"Shogun" will reunite with his former trainer to prep for UFC 134. | Photo: Dave Mandel
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has made his decision.
Griffin spoiled Rua’s Octagon debut in 2007, submitting him with a rear-naked choke at UFC 76.
“I will make my training camp at Kings MMA because I have so much respect for Rafael Cordeiro,” Rua told Sherdog.com. “He invited me, and I agreed with him that it would be a good way to develop my game.”
Rua has not competed since UFC 128 in March, when he surrendered the light heavyweight championship to Jon Jones in a third-round technical knockout defeat at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Long considered one of the sport’s top fighters at 205 pounds, Rua’s career has been interrupted by three reconstructive knee surgeries. Still only 29, He holds a 3-3 mark inside the UFC. He enjoyed some of his greatest success under Cordeiro at the famed Chute Boxe Academy.
“He’s one of the best coaches ever in the history of MMA,” Rua said. “I’m going for him and for the other athletes there who are all great fighters, like Wanderlei Silva and Fabricio Werdum. I don’t know if Anderson Silva will be there, but the others are great.”
Colin Foster contributed to this report.