2. The light heavyweight division has evolved
Another reason for Rua’s gradual decline is the evolution of the stacked UFC light heavyweight division.
Champion Jon Jones has already dominated Rua en route to a TKO stoppage (albeit when Shogun was coming off of yet another serious knee surgery).
Current title challenger Daniel Cormier absolutely mauled Henderson, the same fighter who just knocked out Rua only two months prior, at May’s UFC 173.
While you can never predict a ne fight based on the outcomes of previous bouts, most would probably predict Cormier to do the exact same thing to Rua at this point in time.
He also lost a clear-cut decision to No. 1-ranked Alexander Gustafsson in late 2012, and it’s hard to think that he could actually give other top-ranked fighters like Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, Rashad Evans, Phil Davis, or even Glover Teixeira a run for their money.
They’re simply too big and powerful for Rua right now, which brings us to our next point…
