A light-heavyweight clash between former champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua and the UK’s Jimi Manuwa is being targeted to headline UFC Fight Night 56 in Brazil on November 8th.
‘Shogun’ has been going through a rough patch in the UFC with just one win in his last four fights. His last encounter was a rematch with Dan Henderson back in March which he appeared to be winning up until ‘Hendo’ TKO’d him in the third round.
The loss has resulted in ‘Shogun’ slipping to No.9 in the UFC’s official rankings and it’s interesting to note that despite his fearsome reputation he’s actually now lost more fights than he’s won inside the Octagon, with a 6-7 UFC record.
Manuwa on the other hand has won three of his four UFC bouts so far, but is coming off a loss to current No.1 contender Alexander Gustafsson who handed him the first defeat of his 14 fight career by TKO in March.
That’s left him sitting at No.11 in the rankings and so a win over a legend like ‘Shogun’ would be the gateway to a spot in the top 10.
Both fighters are very dangerous strikers who love to go to war so this should be an entertaining encounter for as long as it lasts.
UFC Fight Night 56 already has another 205lb scrap scheduled with Ovince St. Preux Vs Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante previously having been announced for the event.
