Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua (24-10 MMA) took on Corey Anderson (8-2 MMA) during tonight’s UFC 198 pay-per-view fight card in Curitiba, Brazil.
Round one begins and “Shogun” misses with a leaping right hand. Good kick from Rua. Nice jab from Anderson but “Shogun” replies with a big leg kick. Nice uppercut from Rua. Anderson with a couple of nice jabs. Nice overhand right from Rua. Anderson with a flying knee but Rua catches him with a right hand. Anderson presses Rua against the fence and lands a nice right hand as they break. “Shogun” with a leg kick. Corey with a stiff jab. Nice left hook from Rua. Anderson with a nice shot that lands. Rua with a leg kick. Good left hand and then a leg kick by Anderson. More shots from Corey. He lands a stiff jab on Rua. “shogun” with a left hand that drops Anderson. He rushes in with huge hammer fists but the horn sounds before he can finish Corey off.
Round two begins and Rua opens with a leg kick. Anderson seems to have recovered from the ending of round one. Corey with a leg kick and then a flurry of punches. “Shogun” throws a jab and gets taken down by Anderson. Rua scrambles back to his feet as the crowd cheers. Anderson is fighting hard to get Rua back down to the canvas. He lands a knee from the clinch and breaks. Nice right hand from Corey. Anderson shoots for a takedown but Rua defends. Anderson presses Rua against the fence and drops down for a double leg. “Shogun” won’t have it a shakes Anderson off. Rua moves forward with punches. Corey with a nice jab. Rua with a big right hand that just misses. Nice kick from Anderson. He shoots in and scores a late takedown. Rua pops right back to his feet. One minute left. Good sweep and then some ground and pound from shogun to end round two.
Round three begins and Rua misses with an opening leg kick attempt. He tries again and this one lands flush. Nice overhand right scores for “Shogun”. Anderson shoots in for a double leg. Rua is defending well but Corey is relentless and drags him down. Anderson is working from full guard. Corey is landing some shots to the body. Nice elbow from the top by Anderson. Rua is looking to fence-walk and get back to his feet. Anderson takes his back on the way up. Rua spins and is free. He needs to land some shots as there is just two minutes left. Nice leg kick from Rua. Good jab from Corey and he shoots in for another takedown. Anderson pulls out Rua’s leg and gets him down. “Shogun” pops right back up. Corey has Rua pressed against the cage. He drops down for another takedown but it is not there. Rua with some shots. Corey is working from the clinch and drops back down for another takedown attempt. Rua won’t have it. Round three comes to an end.
Mauricio Rua defeats Corey Anderson via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)