RIO DE JANEIRO — Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will enter a boxing ring Saturday to face Glover Teixeira in a battle of former UFC champions in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and that will likely be the last time he ever puts gloves on to fight.
The former UFC and PRIDE titleholder spoke with MMA Fighting during the Spaten Fight Night 3 open workouts in Rio de Janeiro and said he only came back from retirement to face Teixeira under boxing rules.
“I think it’s the last one,” Rua said. “But I think the future is a mystery, so… I don’t know, but I think it’s the last one.”
Rua and Teixeira retired from MMA on the same night in January 2023, when both lost to Ihor Potieria and Jamahal Hill at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, but this match-up was one he felt it was “missing” from his MMA resume.
“Actually, I’m a fulfilled person,” Rua said when asked if there were other names that could bring him back for more fights in the future. “I think I’ve fought the best in the world. And I don’t think [I’ll fight again] But I’m a guy who is driven by challenges. What drives me are my goals, my targets, my dreams. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I think this is the last one.”
Rua did his entire camp with Andre Dida as his head coach, but turns out he won’t be allowed in the arena Saturday. Dida was involved in a massive brawl that broke out between Wanderlei Silva and Aceilno Freitas teams after the main event of Spaten’s 2025 event.
“Dida won’t be in my corner,” Rua said. “I did the entire preparation with Dida, but he can’t be here because of what happened at the last Spaten event. But I have my team here, who have been with me since the beginning of camp. Dida’s people are also here, so everything is fine.”
“I talk to Dida every day,” he continued. “I already have the strategy in my head. I also talk to Master Rafael [Cordeiro] every day. Everything is aligned between me, Master Rafael, Dida, and my team. Everything is great, everything is perfect.”
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