Brazilian star Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua remains the headliner for UFC Fight Night 134 in Hamburg, Germany on July 22nd, but he now faces a new opponent.
‘Shogun’ was expected to fight Volkan Oezdemir at the event, but his opponent has now been pulled from the card as the result of a visa issue that’s now seen him switched to fighting Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 227 in Los Angeles instead.
As such ‘Shogun’ required a new fight and the UFC have opted to draft in Anthony Smith, who secured the biggest win of his career last month when he KO’d Rashad Evans into retirement with a first round knee strike.
Prior to that the 29-year-old Smith has suffered a TKO loss to Thiago Santos, bringing a three-fight winning streak that had included a victory over Hector Lombard to an end.
As for ‘Shogun,’ the 36-year-old veteran is currently in the midst of a three-fight winning streak that’s seem him emerge victorious against Antonio Rogerio Nogeuira, Corey Anderson and Gian Villante – the first time he’s registered more than a single win since 2006-2007.
Shogun Vs Smith headlines a UFC Fight Night 134 card that will also feature Glover Teixeira Vs Ilir Latifi and Marcin Tybura Vs Stefan Struve.
