Mauricio Rua: I respect Brandon Vera for his dedication to the sport – UFC News
Mauricio Rua, former UFC light heavyweight champion, claims he has great respect for Brandon Vera, considering the American’s struggle for championship since the very beginning.
Rua stated, “I have a lot of respect for Brandon Vera. Brandon has been on this road for a long, long time, too. The guy has a great background in the business of MMA. I think he deserves it, just like many other guys who have been on the road for a long
time.”
Mauricio and Vera are scheduled to take on each other in a non-title bout on August 4, 2012. The duo is set to headline UFC on Fox 4 pay-per-view which will be televised live from Staples Center in Los Angeles, United States.
Vera and Rua recently went through a series of disturbing events, yet the duo is focused on their goals of taking on the champion.
UFC President Dana White previously announced their bout to be a title eliminator one, but serious criticism from UFC fans forced him to amend the decision later on.
Rua, who lost his UFC title to Jon Jones at UFC 128, thumbed down the idea that he is being pressurized by the title contention scenario.
The former world champion was of the view that he takes this as an opportunity, as a source of motivation, to perform well.
Mauricio, well known as ‘Shogun’, stated, “I prefer to look at it from a different perspective. I don’t look at it as any kind of pressure but as a way to have more motivation for the fight next Saturday.”
The Brazilian pounder also admitted the assumption that he might in near future take on both Jon Jones and Dan Henderson again.
Rua remarked, “I’m sure that I’m going to fight with both again, so it doesn’t matter. I don’t have a preference.”
At the moment, though the odds are substantially in favour of Rua yet most of the critics believe that the 30-year-old will face a tough time against Vera as the Californian is also in dire need of making a statement.
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