Shogun Rua reacts to tough KO loss to Anthony Smith: “Life continues”

On Sunday night, in the main event of UFC Hamburg, former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio Shogun Rua returned to the cage opposite Anthony Smith, a fresh new light heavyweight contender who stepped in to replace Volkan Oezdemir on short notice. The stakes were high in this fight, as Shogun sought to extend his win-streak to four-straight, and very possibly earn himself a title fight against reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.

Unfortunately, the fight did not go as planned for the Brazilian MMA legend. Early in the first round, Smith unleashed a barrage of punches and elbows that left Shogun completely unconcious, propped upright against the cage like a broom in a closet.

The fight lasted only 89 seconds.

Shortly after this disastrous fight, Shogun took to Instagram to issue a brief statement. As expected, the former champions seems quite disappointed. That said, he’s as classy as ever in defeat.

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“Unfortunately we don’t always get the result we want, and to understand that fact is part of life,” Shogun said in his classy post-fight statement on Instagram. “Congratulations to Anthony Smith. For so many times I was celebrating at this moment and I can’t take his merits from him. I dedicated myself, trained hard, and did all that was within my reach for this fight, but he was better yesterday. Life continues, thank you all for the support.”

This tough loss to Anthony Smith marks the end of a three-fight streak for the legendary Shogun Rua. This streak was composed of decision wins over Corey Anderson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and a knockout of Gian Villante. He’s now 25-11 overall.

What do you think the future holds for Shogun Rua after his UFC Hamburg knockout loss to Anthony Smith? Join the conversation in the comments section below.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/22/2018.