Antonio Rogerio Nogueira had Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua rocked in the first round of their fight at UFC 190 tonight, but he then started to fade as ‘Shogun’ dug deep and began to edge him out in the striking exchanges from then on to emerge with a unanimous decision victory.
Round One:
‘Shogun’ takes the center of the Octagon as they start with Nogueira moving on the outside. Shogun with a glancing body kick. Nogueira comes up short with a left hand. Nogueira connects with a body kick.
Exchange in close and Shogun lands a left and right. Nogueira with an uppercut in close. Hard right hand gets through for Shogun, but Nogueira seems ok.
A right hook from Shogun wings over Nogueira’s head and then Nogueira clinches up, but they don’t stay in that position for long. Both men miss punches in close.
Nogueira with a leg kick. Another brief exchange in close and Shogun gets kncoked off-balance slightly. Both men connect. Shogun goes upstairs with a head kick, but it’s blocked. He does connect with a powerful body kick though.
Left hand from Nogueira just seems to glance Shogun’s head, but it’s got him rocked on wobbly legs. Shogun backs up and Nogueira starts to look for a finish with strikes. Shogun bites down on his mouthpeice and tries to fire back. He’s clearly still hurt though and wobbles backwards against the cage. Suddenly it’s Nogueira who’s staggering backwards, though perhaps he just lost his balance and he marches forwards again looking to land more offense. They slug it out again to finish out the round.
Round Two:
Leg kick from Shogun. Shogun goes for an early takedown and gets it. He’s in Nogueira’s guard for now and lands a couple of punches while Nogueira is also landing a few from his back. Shogun in half-guard and trying to pass. He lands an elbow strike and a punch.
A few more punches land to the head of his opponent. Now he’s working to pass, but Nogueira defends and then manages to scramble back to his feet.
Hard body kick for Shogun. Another one lands as Nogueira tries to throw punches. Nogueira with a jab. Shogun clinches up and presses Nogueira against the cage. He lands a few knee strikes but is largely stalling from this position so the ref separates them.
Powerful right from Shogun just misses. Good left hand connects for Nogueira and Shogun lands his latest body kick. left hook for Shogun. Another hard body kick too. A final leg kick from Shogun to end the round.
Round Three:
Body kick for Shogun. Right hook gets through for him too. Short flurry from Shogun, but nothing really lands. Body kick does though and then he’s in looking for a takedown, but Nogueira defends against the cage and they separate.
Another body kick for Shogun. Nogueira with punches and a leg kick for Shogun. Nogueira connecting, but Shogun with a body punch and a good overhand right in response. He lands to the body again, but Nogueira continues to take them well.
Striking exchange in close. Shogun with a leg kick. Right hand counter for Shogun. Punches for Shogun and a right hand from Nogueira. Not too much output from Nogueira at this stage though.
leg kick for Shogun. Right hand for him and a body kick. Right hook for Nogueira. Shogun in on a takedown, but Noguiera’s stuffing it against the cage.
He’s still looking to get him down and Nogueira drops into a guillotine choke attempt. It looks deep in the final minute of the round, but Shogun hangs in there and escapes. Now he’s on top and lands a few ground and pound strikes to end the round.
Decision:
So it’s down to the judges scorecards and it’s a close one, but despite being badly hurt in the first round ‘Shogun’ Rua rallies to claim a unanimous decision victory (29-28 x3).
