Mauricio Rua names the three toughest opponents he ever fought in the UFC

Mixed martial arts legend Mauricio Rua aka “Shogun” named the three toughest opponents he ever fought in the UFC in a recent interview.

Rua is one of the most legendary MMA fighters of all time, having been a former PRIDE and UFC champion. Now 39 years old, Shoun has spoken openly about retiring in the next year or two. He is coming off of a brutal TKO loss to Paul Craig in his last outing and considering he turns 40 years of age later this year, the future UFC Hall of Famer knows that his time in the sport is nearing its end. Although he still has another fight or two in him, it’s starting to become the time where Shogun is looking back at his MMA career and reminiscing on it.

Speaking with AG Fight, Rua was asked to name the toughest opponents he ever fought in MMA. Take a look at who Shogun says his toughest rivals were during his amazing career.

“Jon Jones, who is a very eclectic and very smart guy. Dan Henderson, who is very tough, hits too hard. To close, (Antonio Rogerio Nogueira) ‘Minotouro’, who is also eclectic, good at boxing, I had three wars with him,” Rua said.

The Brazilian first pointed to the UFC superstar Jones, who defeated Rua at UFC 128 in March 2011. At the time, Rua was coming off of a KO win over Lyoto Machida to take the title, but Jones put a quick end to his reign as the UFC champ. Then, Rua pointed to Dan Henderson. The two shared the Octagon in perhaps the greatest MMA fight of all-time at UFC 139, with Rua losing a decision in an absolute war. They rematched several years later in another war, with Henderson winning by knockout. And finally, Rua named Nogueira, who Shogun defeated three times by decision during the legends’ PRIDE and UFC days.

What has been your favorite Mauricio Rua memory from his legendary MMA career?