On Sunday evening, in the headlining bout of UFC Hamburg, former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua returned to the cage opposite Anthony Smith, a fresh new light heavyweight contender who stepped in to replace Volkan Oezdemir on short notice. Unfortunately, this fight did not go as planned for the MMA legend Shogun, as he was promptly knocked unconscious by a vicious volley of strikes from his opponent.<\/p>\n
In the wake of this knockout loss, Shogun has implied that he’s not done fighting yet \u2014 that “life continues,” even after setbacks of this kind.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n In the eyes of many members of the MMA community<\/a>, however, it’s time for the legend to retire.<\/p>\n According to Shogun’s countryman Rafael dos Anjos, who is also a former UFC champion, any criticisms of Shogun’s performance in Hamburg are unwarranted.<\/p>\n Dos Anjos leapt to Shogun’s defense on Twitter post-fight, speaking in his native Portuguese.<\/p>\n Triste de ver alguns fans criticarem o @ShogunRua<\/a> pela forma f\u00edsica ou pela performance. Mas nego esquece que a 15 anos atr\u00e1s esse maluco dava porrada em todo mundo no Pride e ainda d\u00e1 porrada em muita gente. O cara teve um dia ruim de trabalho. Shogun eh uma lenda!<\/p>\n — Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) July 22, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n