A light heavyweight contest featuring former division champion Mauricio Shogun Rua taking on perennial contender Tyson Pedro took place at tonight’s UFC Adelaide event.
Shogun Rua entered tonight’s contest looking to rebound, this after suffering a first-round knockout loss to surging division contender Anthony Smith in his most recent octagon appearance at UFC Fight Night 134.
Prior to his loss to “Lionheart“, Shogun Rua had put strung together three-straight victories over opponents Gian Villante, Corey Anderson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
As for Tyson Pedro, the Aussie has not competed since suffering a submission loss to Ovince Saint Preux this past June at UFC Singapore.
Tyson Pedro entered tonight’s contest with Rua sporting a 3-2 UFC record, holding wins over Paul Craig, Saparbek Safarov and Khalil Rountree Jr.
After a being rocked by Tyson Pedro early in the opening round, Shogun Rua not only survived but was able to turn the tide on his Australian opponent in round two.
The Brazilian legend took the fight to the canvas in the second round where he controlled Pedro while landing some decent shots from top position.
Moments into the third and final round Tyson Pedro appeared to suffer a leg injury. Shogun Rua was quick to capitalize dropping Pedro with a right hand. Rua would follow up with some ground and pound which forced the referee to step in and call the fight.
Check out how the pros reacted to Shogun Rua finishing Tyson Pedro below.
I’m sure glad that the ref didn’t stop the fight Prematurely! Good job on shogun weathering the storm! #UFCAdalaide
— Julian marquez (@JMarquezMMA) December 2, 2018
Shogun is a true legend. Great comeback! #UFCAdalaide
— Siyar Bahadurzada (@Siyarized) December 2, 2018
Nice win by the future hall of famer Shogun showing off his heart once again. Legend. #UFCAdelaide
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) December 2, 2018
Shogun really saved my ass there! Took Shogun and the under! I’ve done the same shit all night!
— Chas Skelly (@ChasSkelly) December 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/GilbertDurinho/status/1069102074619707394
Shogun still has it!!! He just beat a young buck to solidify his ranking. #UFCAdalaide
— Julian marquez (@JMarquezMMA) December 2, 2018
Amazing comeback win from the legend Shogun Rua… amazing that he is still fighting at the level he’s at after all these years #UFCAdelaide
— Jared Gordon (@JFlashGordonMMA) December 2, 2018
With tonight’s victory over Pedro, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, Rua, improves to 4-1 over his past five octagon appearances.
Following his impressive come from behind victory over Tyson Pedro at UFC Adelaide, who would you like to see MMA legend Mauricio Shogun Rua fight next? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!