UFC 113
Posted by GameSetMatch on May 7th, 2010
If someone could be bothered to author one of those fancy USA Today-type graphs, you could chart a pretty clear ascendancy of effectiveness in the UFC career of Mauricio Rua.
In his debut against Forrest Griffin — the barely perceptible starting blip — he faded after a few minutes and wound up eating only the second submission loss of his career.
He didn’t look a whole lot better against Mark Coleman, but at least he managed to pull out a win with only seconds to go. (The bar goes a little higher.)
Against Chuck Liddell, he delivered an efficient and clean knockout. (Getting up there.)
Against Lyoto Machida, he lost to the undefeated light heavyweight champion, but many believe he deserved the decision. (Bar scraping the ceiling.)
This is progress.
You would think that fighters like Rua, who spend the majority of their careers competing under Japan’s Pride rules, would have an easier time adjusting to American regulation. They have additional rest periods, which offer a chance to take more risks closer to the bell; they usually get more than a few weeks’ notice to prepare. And handing elbows back to a Muay Thai specialist (Pride forbids their use) is a pretty generous offer.
Click here to read the full article – By Jake Rossen/Sherdog.com of ESPN.com
