‘Shogun’ Rua returns against Gian Villante in March
Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua now knows the details of his next fight. The former light heavyweight champ will be taking on Gian Villante on March 11 in Brazil, as part of UFC Fight Night 107.
Shogun will enter this fight on a two-fight win-streak. His most recent win occurred all the way back in May, on the main card of UFC 198, when he nabbed a split decision from light heavyweight prospect Corey Anderson. Prior to that win, he out-duelled countryman Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a Fight of the Night winning battle. Before embarking on this win-streak, Shogun experienced back-to-back knockout losses at the hands of former interim title challenger Ovince St. Preux and recently retired MMA legend Dan Henderson. The former UFC light heavyweight champ, who also won the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix, is now 24-10 in sum.
Villante, meanwhile, will enter the fight having recently TKO’d Saparbek Safarov in a Fight of the Night winning scrap. Prior to that win, the New Yorker gave up a decision to Sweden’s Ilir Latifi, delivered a violent one-punch knockout of the retired Anthony Perosh, and succumbed to a knockout at the hands of “Filthy” Tom Lawlor. He’s now 15-7 in sum.
In addition to this Shogun-Villante showdown, a number of other exciting fights have already been confirmed for this March 11 card.
The card will be headlined by a middleweight showdown between former UFC light heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort, who is currently on a two-fight losing streak, and former welterweight Kelvin Gastelum, who recently returned to the middleweight division with a mauling of Tim Kennedy. Elsewhere on the card, we’ll witness a high-stakes lightweight clash between Beneil Dariush and deadly kicker Edson Barboza.
Who do you think comes out on top in this Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Gian Villante bout? Who should the winner fight next? Sound off in the comments, PENN Nation!
