A little over a week until UFC Fight Night 56 in Brazil the event now has a new headliner after Jimi Manuawa was forced to pull out after breaking his foot.
As a result his intended opponent Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua will now fight short notice replacement Ovince St. Preux.
It’s a big fight for OSP who’s coming off a unanimous decision loss to Ryan Bader at UFC Fight Night 47 in August which brought an end to a five fight winning streak.
OSP will no doubt have been craving a fight against a big name star like ‘Shogun’, but having to fight him with almost no time to prepare is far from ideal and make it a risky proposition for the 31 year-old who’s currently holding down the No.10 spot in the divisonal rankings.
Despite his star status, ‘Shogun’ has been finding life in the Octagon tough lately with just one victory in his last four bouts and a 3-5 record since winning briefly holding the light-heavyweight title in 2010 following a first round KO victory against Lyoto Machida.
Given his slump in form there has been some talk that the 32 year-old should consider hanging up his gloves, but the fighter himself has dismissed that talk, and still ranked at No.9 he’ll see a win over OSP as the first stepping stone to getting back on top.
