Shogun Rua will fight in Brazil this January.
According to MMA reporter Alex Behunin, Rua is set to face Ihor Potieria at UFC 283 in Brazil. The event will take place on January 23, 2023, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The main event of the fight has not been announced.
Although Rua will fight at UFC 283, it is not the opponent originally mentioned as Lyoto Machida’s manager recently revealed they were negotiating to face Rua in the trilogy match at the event.
“When I heard ‘Shogun was doing his last fight at UFC Rio, I immediately called (UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell) offering Lyoto for a trilogy,” Guimaraes said to Sherdog. “Hunter told me they initially were planning on someone like Tyson Pedro to fight Shogun, but he liked the idea and told me he was going to talk to Dana [White] about it. I have no doubt the Brazilian audience would love that matchup. Two champions, two legends of the sport, one win for each, doing their rubber match on the night of both of their retirement fights. Shogun is already a Hall of Famer, Lyoto also deserves that.”
Shogun Rua (27-13-1) is on a two-fight losing skid as the soon-to-be 41-year-old is coming off a decision loss to Ovince Saint Preux and a TKO loss to Paul Craig. The former UFC light heavyweight champion has been in the UFC since 2007. He holds notable wins over Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Corey Anderson, and Tyson Pedro.
Ihor Potieria (18-3) suffered a TKO loss to Nicolae Negumereanu at UFC 277 in July in his promotional debut. The 26-year-old Ukrainian earned his way into the UFC with a first-round KO win on the Contender Series in 2021.
With the addition of Rua vs. Potieria, UFC 283 is as follows:
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno
- Brad Tavares vs. Gregory Rodrigues
- Shogun Rua vs. Ihor Potieria
- Gabriel Bonfirm vs. Mounir Lazzez
- Josiane Nunes vs. Zarah Fairn
Who do you think wins at UFC 283, Shogun Rua or Ihor Potieria?