Griffin Versus Rua Rematch Annouced for UFC Rio

By Raphael Garcia

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Brazil has begun to take shape after two announcements by the organization this past week. The first announcement was the main event, which will pit Anderson Silva against the last man to defeat him, number one contender Yushin “Thunder” Okami. Along with this rematch, fight fans will get to see a rematch between Forrest Griffin and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

The Griffin-Rua matchup is a very interesting bout for the light heavyweight division. These two former champions first met in 2007 at UFC 76. It was there that Griffin became the first individual to ever submit Shogun, doing so by a rear naked choke in the third round. Rua was heavily favored by oddsmakers going into the bout, but was upset by Griffin, who fought relentlessly from start to finish.

Since then, both fighters made their way to the top of the light heavyweight rankings, only to be dethroned in their first defenses. Griffin was knocked off by Rashad Evans at UFC 92, while Rua recently fell to Jon Jones in stunning fashion at UFC 128. Both fighters are looking to make a jump back into the title picture and must go through the other to get there. In addition, both Rua and Griffin have suffered through injuries in recent times that have left fans questioning their ability to compete against the newest crop of light heavyweight fighters in the UFC.

Griffin will have the momentum coming into this bout. At UFC 126 he soundly defeated former Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin by unanimous decision. Shogun however looked like a shell of his former self as he wilted under the onslaught of Jones. He was never able to mount any form of offense at any point during the contest.

I expect to see Griffin employ the same type of strategy that he used against Shogun during their first battle, where he pushed the pace and never gave Rua a chance to unleash. However, the UFC 76 matchup between Griffin and Rua was Rua’s first time in the Octagon, and one has to wonder if that played any part in his performance. Time and time again we have seen major stars from other organizations struggle when they step onto the UFC’s stage. Since then he has fought some of the toughest stars in the UFC, while Griffin has struggled with defeats and injuries of his own.

A win by either fighter would help keep his name relevant and on the short list of title contenders after Rashad Evans gets his upcoming shot at Jon Jones. The loser would experience a major setback in his career. Along with that, the loser will have to face the question of whether the division has passed him by. Rematches are always intriguing fights because you have to wonder what strategic adjustments will be made, and how the fighters have improved since their first confrontation.

Griffin versus Rua will go down at UFC Rio, which is the organization’s first trip to the country since 1998. The current schedule has this card set for August 27th at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.