‘Shogun’ Rua Planning on Retirement After Two or Three More Fights

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Mauricio Rua doesn’t have an exact timetable for the end of his mixed martial arts career, but the finish line is in sight.

“Shogun” will square off against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a trilogy bout at UFC on ESPN 14 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. After that, the legendary Brazilian could only have a few more Octagon appearances left.

“My idea is two or three more fights [before] I finish my career,” Rua said at a virtual media event on Tuesday.

The former Pride Fighting Championships star chuckled about a similar promise he made to his wife years ago. The 38-year-old Curitiba, Brazil, native plans on keeping his word this time around.

“I broke [the promise], but now it’s real,” he said with a laugh. “Now, two or three fights [and] I stop. A long time ago I said to my wife I said, two more fights. I had 15 or 16 fights.”

Rua is looking forward to erasing the bitter taste of a split draw with Paul Craig in his most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 164 this past November. Of the 16 media scorecards tracked by MMADecisions.com, 14 had “Shogun” winning the fight. Prior to that controversial result, the former light heavyweight champion had won four of his last five promotional appearances.

“Everybody saw that I won the fight,” he said. “But it’s not under our control. Unfortunately, we lose a lot with a decision like that. It has an impact. But what can we do? It’s not in our control and it was upsetting.”

While Rua’s career is nearing its end, Nogueira has said that UFC on ESPN 14 will be his farewell fight. Rua defeated his Brazilian rival by unanimous decision in their first meeting at Pride FC “Critical Countdown 2005” and took another decision in their rematch at UFC 190 in 2015.

“I’m very happy for this,” Rua said of facing “Minotouro” in his final MMA bout. “Nogueira is a legend in the sport. I am his last fight. I’m very happy. Nogueira, he’s a good fighter and a good person.”

As Rua’s own career draws to a close, he doesn’t have any particular goals in mind to add to his legacy.

“I don’t put any pressure on myself for my last fights,” he said. “The only thing I want is to give my best.”