‘Shogun’ Rua to Face Ihor Potieria in Brazil at UFC 283 in January

If this is to be the last hoorah for Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships legend “Shogun” Mauricio Rua, he will go out guns blazing against a tough foe.

Late Wednesday night, MMA Mania first broke the news of Rua’s next opponent. It will not be Lyoto Machida, as had been previously discussed by Machida’s manager. Instead, Rua (27-13-1) will battle it out with 26-year-old Ukrainian Ihor Potieria (18-3) at light heavyweight at UFC 283. The 205ers will dance on Jan. 21 inside Rio de Janeiro's Jeunesse Arena. The pairing has since been confirmed by other outlets.

While he has lost his last two – a close decision in a rematch with Ovince St. Preux in May and a submission to strikes against Paul Craig in late 2020 – Rua had previously put together a solid run with five wins opposite one defeat and a draw. The former Pride middleweight champion and UFC light heavyweight king, Rua has faced a veritable who’s who of names across the sport for over two decades. “Shogun” burst onto the scene with three dominant performances on the Pride Bushido series in 2003 and 2004, which commenced a terrifying 12-fight run with nine knockouts compared to one loss that came when he broke his arm against Mark Coleman in 2006. Rua celebrates a career finish rate of 81%, and he posts knockouts in two of his last three wins.

Known to some as “The Duelist,” Potieria made his promotional debut in July against Nicolae Negumereanu. Potieria succumbed to strikes in the second round, which concluded a 15-fight win streak that spanned nearly five years. Potieria made his way to the promotion with a first-round knockout of Lukasz Sudolski on the 2021 season of Dana White's Contender Series, with that fight his first on a major stage. The Ukrainian trails his prospective opponent slightly with a stoppage rate of 78%, but he has recorded finishes in five of his last seven victorious outings.

The headliner for UFC 283 is not yet determined, but the event itself will go on at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. At least one championship affair will sit on its lineup, as Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno will run it back for their fourth encounter as they look to unify the flyweight title. Other matchups on the card include a middleweight brawl between Brad Tavares and Gregory Rodrigues, a welterweight tilt pairing Mounir Lazzez against Gabriel Bonfim and an increasingly rare women’s featherweight bout between Josiane Nunes and Zarah Fairn dos Santos.