Before he entered his ill-fated Octagon debut against Forrest Griffin at UFC 76 in September 2007, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was arguably the world’s most dominant light heavyweight. Much has changed in the 16 months since.

Kept on the sidelines by two reconstructive knee surgeries, Rua (16-3) makes his long-awaited return when he meets UFC hall of famer Mark Coleman at UFC 93 “Franklin vs. Henderson” this Saturday at the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The two met once before in an infamous Pride 31 showdown that ended after 49 seconds when a Coleman takedown resulted in an awkward fall and broken arm for Rua.

Many have played up the bad blood that purportedly still exists between the two, though Rua elects to take the high road.

“I face it as a professional fight,” he says. “I respect Coleman a lot. Actually, he was in the business before I started fighting, so I have all the respect for him. I’m sure we’ll make a great show for the Irish audience, but I’m prepared to win.”

A little more than a year ago, Rua was on top of the world, almost universally hailed as the sport’s premier 205-pound fighter. He entered his bout against Griffin with wins in 12 of his last 13 fights. Included in that stretch of dominance were his march to the 2005 Pride middleweight grand prix title and high-profile victories against Quinton Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Ricardo Arona, Kevin Randleman and Alistair Overeem (twice).

Few saw the durable but unspectacular Griffin as a legitimate threat at UFC 76, and though Rua opened a gash between the American’s eyes with a nasty elbow, he faded as the battle wore on. By round three, nothing was left in the gas tank, and Rua succumbed to fatigue and a rear-naked choke. Two weeks later, he underwent surgery to repair his damaged knee. Rehabilitation followed.

Rua -- who reinjured his knee and underwent a second knee surgery in March -- credits Griffin’s efforts but believes a rematch between the two would end differently.

“Certainly, it would be different,” he says. “The difference is that I’d get in there more prepared and focused. That’s not an excuse. I recognize his victory, but I lost that fight myself.”

Rua’s climb back to the light heavyweight mountaintop begins with Coleman (15-8), a rugged former UFC heavyweight champion and Pride open weight grand prix winner. As the man who introduced modern ground-and-pound to mixed martial arts, Coleman carries a resume that speaks for itself. Even though his last appearance inside the Octagon came in January 1999, the 44-year-old one-time Olympian remains a dangerous man inside the cage. To Rua, Coleman represents an obstacle standing between him and a return to prominence.

“My great dream is to win the UFC belt, but to get it, you have to win your next fight, and my next challenge is a great athlete in Coleman,” he says. “I just think about him right now.”

The 27-year-old Brazilian left for Ireland -- the trip covered some 6,000 miles -- last Saturday weighing around the 220-pound mark.

“I truly feel like I’m back in great shape,” Rua says. “I’ll keep my weight there until I get closer to the fight.”

Though he has spent a year and a half away from competition, Rua kept his eyes on what went down inside the Octagon in his absence, including Jackson’s decisive knockout victory against former Chute Boxe Academy comrade Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 in December.

“I got really sad about Wand’s loss,” Rua says. “Besides being a great friend, I’m also a big fan of his. Wanderlei always fights on the attack in order to give a great show to the audience, and when you look to hit, you’re also open to getting hit. That’s part of the game. Wanderlei’s a warrior, and I’m sure he’ll be on top again soon.”

Rua also watched with vested interest the light heavyweight title match between Griffin and the unbeaten Rashad Evans at UFC 92 -- a bout Evans won by third-round technical knockout.

“It was an amazing fight,” Rua says. “In my opinion, Forrest dominated rounds one and two, but Rashad was calm enough to wait for the right moment to get his perfect punch and win the fight. He deserved to win, and I believe he’ll be a tough challenge for any fighter who tries to take his belt.”

Still very much in his prime, Rua wants nothing more than to vault himself back into title contention.

“This division’s so tough,” he says. “The small details decide who’s champion.”