Ten Years After Their First Bout, Rua Gets Another Win Over Noguiera

RUA vs. NOGUEIRA

Ten years after their first bout in PRIDE, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira got reacquainted in the UFC Octagon, with Rua winning a three-round unanimous decision, making it two for two against his friendly rival.

“I knew that he was a tough guy, I knew that he was going to be well-prepared, but I got the victory,” Rua, who defeated Nogueira in 2005, said.

All three judges scored it 29-28 for Curitiba’s Rua, now 23-10; Rio’s Nogueira falls to 21-7.

Rua looked sharper and more confident than he has in a while in the early stages of the opening round, landing hard kicks and winning the punching exchanges. That was at least until a short left from Nogueira…