Mauricio Shogun Rua (16-3) has returned to training according to fightline.com. The report says Rua who injured his knee for a second time while training for a fight with Chuck Liddell at UFC 85 is training in Boxing and will begin training Jiu-Jitsu again in a week. His come back target date as of now is December, does this mean a possible return at a New Years weekend card is possible? Rua who is considered to be one if not best Light Heavyweight in the world made his debut for the UFC in a loss to the new Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (Still feels funny even writing it) back at UFC 76: Knockout in September of 2007. If Rua returns in December it will be for the first time in 14 to 15 months depending on the date. I for one hope he returns to the UFC with his knee at 100% mobility and strength. A few months back I remember when Greg Oden of the Portland Trailblazers was announced as needing a similar surgery on his ACL which forced him to miss his whole rookie year in the NBA. During the segment one of the correspondents on ESPN was Jamal Mashburn who said his knee never returned to 100% mobility and his career was never the same. As far as for a MMA fighter it may be different because of how they do not need to jump as much as an NBA player. They do however have to throw kicks, pivot for punches and defend takedowns all of which require the knee to be at its strongest for power and mobility. For a more conclusive answer I will attempt to ask a Sports Medicine Doctor with experience in the field of knee surgeries and athletes. I will let you know what I find out.
Shogun will be opening a new school in Curitiba, Brazil on July 21st called UDL, Wanderlei "Rape Choke" Silva will be giving instructions. If anyone who lives in Brazil reads this I would love to set up a way to pay to have the school opening covered, please leave your E-mail in the comment section and I will get back to you.
Update- URDirt.com finally got a exclusive video interview with Shogun Rua.
