UFC News: Shogun Responds to Sokodjou’s Challenge
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou defeated Kazuhiro Nakamura in emphatic fashion at UFC 84; putting himself back on track as a solid contender in the UFC’s stacked light heavyweight division. After the fight, Sokoudjou made waves in the MMA community by calling out Mauricio Shogun Rua; later stating that he has been after Rua since both fighters fought in the now defunct PRIDE promotion.
“I would love to fight that guy. I’ve tried to fight him ever since I fought in Pride and he’s been ducking me. Shogun has been ducking me since the Pride days. Shogun’s camp told me that to fight him, I had to fight [Evangelista] Cyborg [Santos] first. I told them I want to fight Shogun, not Cyborg, and then Pride went away and now he’s in the UFC and he hasn’t fought for a minute. I know he got injured for his last fight, but I think by the time I’m ready to fight again hopefully he should be ready and will take the fight.”
Rua responded to Sokodjou’s recent comments via GracieMAG:
“They can match me up against anyone and I’ll be happy. It is Dana White and the guys at the UFC who decide who I fight with. I’m not going to give this guy any attention, because I have fought better fighters than him. He wanted to fight me and I never said yes or no – they just didn’t make it happen and he ended up fighting Ricardo Arona at Pride’s last event. I never heard anything about Chute Boxe telling him he’d have to fight Evangelista Cyborg before me, like he said. I’ll fight him like I have always fought all top competitors.
Credit: Fightline.Com