Mauricio Rua will likely have to wait another six months to rematch the man many people believe he defeated last month in a UFC light heavyweight championship match.
Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel is reporting that UFC President Dana White told him that Rua will face off with champion
Lyoto Machida on May 1 in Montreal.
Machida’s manager, Ed Soares, confirmed the date to Sherdog.com through a text message, but Rua’s manager, Eduardo Alonso, said in an e-mail he has not been approached yet with a date.
The rematch was optimistically scheduled for Jan. 2’s UFC 108 but had to be moved back due to a hand injury suffered by Machida in the first fight.
Machida (16-0) took home a controversial unanimous decision that has been widely panned by pundits and fans as well as UFC brass. In an interview last week, White told Sherdog.com that both he and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta scored the bout four rounds to one in favor of “Shogun.”
The 31-year-old champion dropped the first rounds of his UFC campaign against the former Pride star, who has rejuvenated his promising career after a rough start in the UFC. Rua (18-4), who was once thought of as the top 205-pound fighter in the world, used an impressive array of kicks and body shots to wear down Machida in their 25-minute tussle.
Rua, 27, looks to have put the knee injuries that slowed him down in his first UFC bouts behind him and has reclaimed his position among the elites of the weight class. It seems he will get his chance to climb atop the light heavyweight division next spring.
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