‘Shogun’ Rua Gives Instagram Statement, Blames Knee Injury for UFC Fight Night 117 Withdrawal

To no one's surprise, it's a lingering knee injury that has knocked “Shogun” Mauricio Rua out of action.

The 35-year-old Rua was scheduled to headline this Saturday's UFC Fight Night 117 card in a rematch against Ovince St. Preux, who knocked him out nearly three years ago in his native Brazil. Their second bout was scheduled to headline the UFC bill from Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, the site of many of Shogun's triumphs in the Pride Fighting Championships. However, on Saturday, news broke that Rua was out of the main event due to injury and would be replaced by former Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Yushin Okami.

On Monday, Rua took to his official Instagram account to give his first statement since the news broke, blaming a nagging knee for his withdrawal.

“For me it's really hard to have to step out of a fight, really difficult, and to accept that this was the only viable alternative wasn't easy at all,” Rua wrote. “Unfortunately, still early in this camp, I injured my knee. I spent all camp doing all within my reach to be able to fight on September 23, trained the whole time under medication, protection in my knee, ice and physical therapy. I went beyond my limit because fighting in Japan again is something I have been dreaming about for a long time, because I didn't want to disappoint the fans, and because I was raised this way in martial arts by my master.”

The former UFC light heavyweight champion has suffered through a host of knee injuries that have required several surgeries, dating back to 2006. However, since a 1-4 run over a two-year period in the UFC, Rua has ripped off three straight wins in the Octagon, besting Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Corey Anderson and Gian Villante.

“I already stepped up to fight injured many times in my career, and it wasn’t for lack of effort or trying,” Rua continued in hist post. “But unfortunately all the effort only aggravated the injuries, and I got to a moment where my team and I had to accept that there were no alternatives, and I had to pull out of the fight. It wasn’t easy.”

Rua's entire statement follows below:

Lutar tem sido a minha vida há mais de 15 anos. É o que eu escolhi pra mim e o que amo fazer. Pra mim é muito difícil ter que sair de uma luta, muito mesmo, e aceitar que isso era a única alternativa viável não foi nada fácil. Infelizmente, ainda no começo desse Camp, machuquei meu joelho. Passei todo meu Camp fazendo tudo que estava ao meu alcance pra poder lutar no dia 23 de Setembro (22 no Brasil), e treinei o tempo todo na base de remédios, proteção no joelho, gelo e fisioterapia. Fui além do limite porque voltar a lutar no Japão é algo que eu sonhava há muito tempo, porque não queria decepcionar os fãs, e porque fui criado assim nas artes marciais pelo meu mestre. Já subi pra lutar lesionado diversas vezes na carreira, e não faltou esforço e tentativa. Mas Infelizmente todo o esforço só acabou por agravar as lesões, e chegou um momento em que a minha equipe e eu tivemos que aceitar que não haviam mais alternativas, e tive que sair da luta. Não foi fácil. Quero pedir desculpas ao meu adversário, já estive na mesma situação inclusive quando nos enfrentamos a primeira vez, e sei que nunca é fácil, e principalmente pedir desculpas ao público, especialmente a todos aqueles que estavam ansiosos aguardando essa luta. Vou cuidar da minha recuperação agora, curar minhas lesões e voltar mais forte. Os desafios são colocados na nossa frente todos os dias, e o que realmente importa é como a gente os enfrenta. Obrigado pelo carinho de todos. Fighting has been my life for more than 15 years. It's what I have chosen for myself, and what I love to do. For me it's really hard to have to step out of a fight, really difficult, and to accept that this was the only viable alternative wasn't easy at all. Unfortunately, still early in this camp, I injured my knee. I spent all Camp doing all within my reach to be able to fight on September 23rd, trained the whole time under medication, protection in my knee, ice and physical therapy. I went beyond my limit because fighting in Japan again is something I have been dreaming about for a long time, because I didn't want to disappoint the fans, and because I was raised this way in martial arts by my master. I already stepped up to fig

A post shared by Shogun Rua (@shogunoficial) on Sep 18, 2017 at 4:38am PDT