Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and the Crowded UFC Light Heavyweight Division

UFC 97 Redemption sounded like just what Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Chuck Liddell needed after their previous lackluster and disappointing performances in the Octagon.

Shogun almost took three full rounds to avenge an old and under-trained Mark Coleman, while Chuck Liddell was admittedly "caught" by the craziest-looking overhand right that Rashad Evans had ever thrown. 

But after barely five minutes of fighting in Montreal, Canada on Saturday, April 18, Shogun proved that he was a legitimate contender for the belt.

However, Chuck Liddell, almost nearing 40 years old, now has to seriously consider whether he should keep fighting or not to save himself from becoming the next Ken Shamrock.

Many UFC fans do not know just how good Shogun was or currently is.

His loss against Forrest Griffin and his uninspired fight against Mark Coleman did nothing to help uninformed fans believe that this young Brazilian was once considered the best light heavyweight in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. His previous wins include Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Alistair Overeem, Ricardo Arona, Antonio Rogerio Nogueria, Kazuhiro Nakamura, and more.

The reality is that when fans witness Shogun in action, they are watching one of the most athletic, aggressive, and naturally talented fighters in the world.

He has some of the best Muay Thai in the business. His ground game is dangerous and creative to say the least (watch his fights against Ricardo Arona and Kevin Randleman).

He proved how tough his chin is the hard way; he engaged in an all-out war against Antonio Rogerio Nogueria—who is so good at boxing that he was considering competing in the last Summer Olympics.

Shogun's wrestling skills are very underrated. He took Mark Coleman down with a double-leg takedown (Coleman, if my memory serves me right, has never been taken down before) and also took Chuck Liddell down, which is also no easy feat.

It is clear that in Mauricio Shogun Rua, you have a young, talented prospect that can strike, wrestle, and submit with ease.

No one else in the Light Heavyweight division appears to be that well rounded, with the lone possible exception of Lyoto Machida.

A healthy Shogun Rua, in my opinion, has a very good chance of claiming the LHW title.

So for the rest of this article, I want to analyze how Shogun specifically matches up against four fighters considered to be at the top tier of UFC's Light Heavyweight division.

(Shogun just recently defeated Liddell and has stated in previous interviews that he will never fight Wanderlei Silva. I also do not see Keith Jardine, Thiago Silva, and Luis Cane being serious threats for Shogun as of now, so I did not include them in this list.)

Rematch with Forrest Griffin

We all know what happened in the first fight. Shogun, suffering from a very problematic knee injury, went to fight against a very motivated and hungry Forrest Griffin—who would later go on to defeat Quinton Jackson and rise from The Ultimate Fighter winner to UFC champion.

Despite the ultimate submission loss, Shogun still showed that he could take the bigger man down. He also showed that he has adapted pretty well to the new UFC rules; forget stomping people on the head or elbowing till they bleed!

In this rematch, Shogun can take this fight to the ground and punish Griffin from there. If he can take Chuck Liddell down, Shogun can surely take Griffin down. He can also strike against Griffin and do well.

I see a later-round TKO or unanimous decision win for Shogun.

Rematch with Quinton Jackson

Shogun, back in 2005 (when he was 24 years old), destroyed Jackson in Pride. That fight, however, cannot help determine the possible outcome of this rematch

Jackson injured his ribs early in the first fight due to Shogun's trademark Muay Thai knees in the clinch, and subsequently became Shogun's punching bag for five minutes. It was a Chute Boxe-style beatdown, and if this match does happen, Jackson will try harder than ever to try to avenge this humiliating loss.

In this rematch, I favor Shogun mainly because of his well-roundedness. He can take Jackson down (which he did pretty easily in the first fight), and Shogun has good leg (low) kicks that can frustrate Jackson—leg kicks are still Jackson’s kryptonite. Shogun also has a strong chin and can stand and trade punches with Jackson.

In the world of modern MMA, the more well-rounded fighter wins, and Shogun takes the win by late-round TKO or unanimous decision in this potential rematch.

Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans has shown that he is constantly evolving. Originally a ground and pound specialist, Rashad can now kick and punch.

He has finished his last two fights decisively, knocking out Chuck Liddell and a TKO to Forrest Griffin. He has been taken down before and has been put in difficult positions before as well. Yet he is still undefeated.

It is always hard for me to find faults in someone who is undefeated, but finding chinks in someone's armor is not impossible.

Rashad has the wrestling skills, but his striking abilities are still somewhat lacking. His knockout of Liddell has since been overshadowed by the fact that Liddell had been knocked down in all of his last five fights.

Liddell was knocked out against Jackson, Jardine knocked him down temporarily in the first round of the fight, and Wanderlei Silva knocked him down for a few seconds in the second round, to go along with the Rashad knockout. And now, of course, Shogun has knocked him out as well. Rashad lost the first round against Chuck, too.

If you consider all those factors, it is possible that Shogun can beat Rashad in the striking department, armed with his top-notch Muay Thai. Shogun takes the unanimous decision.

Lyoto Machida

Machida is the guy that no one wants to fight.

Frankly put, Machida is good at making his opponents look bad. His best strength seems to be his elusiveness. More recently, Machida is trying to finish his opponents—his punch through Thiago Silva's guard was a spectacular move that rightfully earned Lyoto his shot for the title—as well.

Shogun and Machida both have underrated takedown abilities and submission skills. The biggest difference comes in the style of striking. Machida's Karate-style stand-up is effective for avoiding damage and setting up unpredictable sweeps and throws. But he cannot generate the one-punch knockout force of the likes of Chuck Liddell, per se.

Shogun's Muay Thai—a deadly art trained to perfection courtesy of the legendary Chute Boxe Academy—is good at inflicting damage. It is Shogun's innate aggressiveness and explosiveness that have helped crumble his opponents.

So, of the four opponents, Lyoto Machida is the biggest challenge that Shogun faces.

Shogun's best chance will be to take Machida down, and keep him there, which is no easy feat. Sokoudjou did it once and was reversed almost immediately. Tito Ortiz had a hard time too. In the Ortiz fight, Machida employed a sumo technique to take him down. Ortiz was just as shocked as the fans were when he found himself at the receiving end of elbows just after giving up side-mount.

If Shogun gets his timing right, he can take Machida down and punish him from there. The only possible way Shogun can win this fight is by unanimous decision, and for sure this will be a long and grueling fight.

If anyone doubts Shogun's skills, he or she should rent some Pride DVDs and watch how incredible this guy really is. Mauro Ranallo, the play-by-play announcer back in Pride FC, described Shogun as a "Supernova," and he was right. He is a force to be reckoned with in the UFC.