‘Shogun’ Releases Statement After UFC Hamburg: ‘We Don’t Always Get the Result We Want’

Mauricio Rua’s three-fight winning streak came to a resounding end in Hamburg, Germany, on Sunday, as he was stopped by Anthony Smith via knockout just 89 seconds after their UFC Fight Night 134 headlining bout began.

Rua entered the bout with title aspirations after having been targeted as a potential opponent by reigning 205-pound king Daniel Cormier. The 36-year-old Brazilian had experienced a mini-resurgence of late, posting triumphs over Gian Villante, Corey Anderson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in his previous three outings before falling to Smith.

“Shogun” released a statement via Instagram following his defeat, congratulating Smith while pointing out that “life continues.”

“Unfortunately we don’t always get the result we want, and to understand that fact is part of life,” Rua wrote. “Congratulations to Anthony Smith. For so many times I was celebrating at this moment and I can’t take his merits from him. I dedicated myself, trained hard, and did all that was within my reach for this fight, but he was better yesterday. Life continues, thank you all for the support.”

Rua, a former light heavyweight champion, is 9-9 during his promotional tenure, with wins over the likes of Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida and Forrest Griffin.

Infelizmente nem sempre a gente tem o resultado que gostaria, e entender isso faz parte da vida. Parabéns ao Anthony Smith. Por tantas e tantas vezes eu estive comemorando nesse momento e não posso tirar o mérito dele. Me dediquei, treinei muito, e fiz tudo que estava ao meu alcance pra essa luta, mas ele foi melhor nessa noite. A vida continua, obrigado pelo carinho de todos. Unfortunately we don’t always get the result we want, and to understand that fact is part of life. Congratulations to Anthony Smith. For so many times I was celebrating at this moment and I can’t take his merits from him. I dedicated myself, trained hard, and did all that was within my reach for this fight, but he was better yesterday. Life continues, thank you all for the support.

A post shared by Shogun Rua (@shogunoficial) on Jul 22, 2018 at 11:18pm PDT