UFC 134 Preview: 5 Reasons Why Shogun Rua Will Even Score With Forrest Griffin

On Aug. 27th, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Brazil for the first time in 13 years.

With arguably one of the most stacked cards of 2011, the co-main event features the second battle in the war known as Forrest Griffin versus Mauricio Shogun Rua.

The last time these two faced was at UFC 76 in Anaheim when Rua was making his UFC debut.

With Rua's success in Pride, many believed he would dominate the Ultimate Fighter winner.

However, the 29-year-old gassed in the middle of the fight and Griffin took control, dominating the last two rounds.

With only 15 seconds remaining in the final round, Griffin sunk in a rear-naked choke, and Rua was forced to tap.

A lot of things have changed since then, including the light heavyweight title changing hands five times.

Both Griffin and Rua held it at one time, only to lose it in dominant fashion, with Rua's recent loss to Jon Jones back in March.

With Rua sliding down in the rankings and Griffin moving up after wins against Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin, the two will collide once again, this time in Rua's backyard.

Shogun hopes to even the score, and here are five reasons why he will.

1) Jon Jones Didn't Face the "Real" Shogun, Still One of the Best in the World

In Shogun's first title defense, the Brazilian was set to take on Rashad Evans. However, due to a knee injury, Evans was forced out of the fight, and his training partner, young up-and-comer Jon Jones, replaced him.

Rua had to change his gameplan up as Jones was a much more unothodox fighter than Evans.

This was also Shogun's first fight after undergoing major knee surgery.

On the night of the title defense, Rua was dominated by Jones in one of the most one-sided title defeats in UFC history. 

After the fight, Rua's brother Murilo, was able to pinpoint the exact moment that Shogun lost the fight, which was early on in the first round,

"I think what went wrong during the fight was the very first strikes Jones landed on Shogun, that knee and the head kick, may have taken his gas away."

Shogun himself would later go on to say that he was disgusted with the fight and when he got hit by a knee, he was out of it.

After the fight, the last person to lose to Rua, Lyoto Machida, stated that Jones did not beat the "real" Shogun,

"

"I know Shogun has more to show than that. Maybe he failed to bring his game or maybe he felt the pressure of defending the belt for the first time," Machida said 

"They changed opponents on him. That can interfere with a fight. I have no doubt he could have fought better. I'm sure if Shogun was the same fighter he was when we fought in Los Angeles the fight would have been much more difficult for Jones."

"Shogun would have had a great chance, and it would not have been as easy as it was."

"

If Machida is right in his theories, then the "real" Shogun should come into the fight against Griffin.

The pressure of defending a belt is no longer there, and Shogun has gotten that first fight following a major surgery out of the way.

2) Griffin Isn't Facing the Same Shogun He Fought in 2007

Like mentioned earlier, Rua and Griffin's first fight was Shogun's first fight inside of the octagon.

Rua had to adjust to a new set of rules that did not allow such things as soccer kicks and stomps that Shogun used to his advantage in Pride.

Rua was considered one of the top fighters in the world at the time, but he was stepping into a completely different setting and he faltered because of it.

In a UFC 134 media call earlier in the week, Griffin was quick to agree that he'll be facing a different Rua,

"

"Guys maybe at their core don't change, but he looks a lot different," Griffin said.

"That was his first fight in the UFC. That was his first fight in the cage. That was his first fight without kicks on the ground. So, it's different."

"

Since their first encounter, Rua has fought five times in the UFC and is finally comfortable inside the octagon.

Stamina will not be an issue again as Rua now has experience with three round UFC fights, as well as five-round fights when he and Machida went the distance in their first fight at UFC 104.

Shogun also had a severe knee problem at the time of their first fight. An injury that required surgery after the fight. 

With his knee injuries behind him, the Rio de Janeiro crowd may see the healthiest Shogun in quite a long time.

3) Griffin Has Not Changed Much Since Their First Fight

After losing the title to Jones, Rua realized that he needed a change in his training.

Rua decided to leave training in his hometown of Curitiba, Brazil and re-unite with his former Chute Box mentor Rafael Cordiero at his Kings MMA Academy in Los Angeles.

By moving his training to Los Angeles, he will train with some of the top fighters in Fabricio Wedum, Wanderlei Silva, and the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world Anderson Silva, who has had experience in fighting Forrest Griffin when he dominated him at UFC 101.

Shogun knew that in able to get better he had to step out of his comfort zone, even if it meant leaving his home and family,

"

"I’ve talked to my coaches, who had been there all along, and I decided I had to go," said Rua.

"Curitiba is a good place for me because there’s where my family is, my house and all that stuff, but I don’t have a training plan set, and now it’s more important than the comfort I have when I’m at home, so I’ll go to Los Angeles to look for a better training."

"

While Rua is making the changes needed to become a better fighter, Griffin continues to train at Xtreme Couture where he has trained for most of his UFC career.

Working with only one set of trainers fight after fight can only evolve your game so much and even Griffin has stated that his loyalty has hurt his improvement in his blog on Yahoo! Sports,:

"I’ve been in the UFC for more than six years, but I ain’t got it figured out when it comes to training and training camps," said Griffin.

However, after his fight with Rua, Griffin may finally branch out to other training camps around the country,

"In fact, I think I’m doing everything wrong and I think for my next fight I’m gonna go somewhere for five or six weeks and see what they do. Maybe to AKA or somewhere where there are a lot of guys slightly smaller than me."

Griffin's game has not changed much since the last time these two fought, and he could find himself in trouble against a much evolved Shogun.

4) Rua Has Home-Field Advantage

The UFC is finally making their return to Brazil, and the fans are excited to see a card full of their fellow countrymen.

Rua is one of the most popular Brazilian fighters in the UFC and the crowd will be roaring when he makes his entrance into the octagon.

Having 14,000 fans chanting your name should add extra motivation for Rua, and according to MMAFighting, he wants to put on a good show,

"I'm very happy to be fighting in Brazil," Rua said. "I'm very motivated to do a good showing and to give something back to the fans who give me so much support, not only here in Brazil but all over the world."

Rua has not fought in Brazil since 2003 when he fought at Meca World Vale Tudo 9.

Since then, Rua has fought all around the world, including Japan, the United States, Ireland, as well as Canada.

With Shogun's family and friends in the crowd for possibly the first time, Rua will be determined to make them proud.

Unfortunately for Griffin, the amount of fans cheering for the American won't get past double digits, and he won't be able to hear himself think.

5) Shogun Is on the Brink of a Title Shot

If looking to even the score with Griffin and fighting in his home country aren't enough motivation for Shogun, now it's been revealed that he is close to another championship opportunity.

Although his fight with Jon Jones was a one-sided fight, UFC President Dana White still feels that Shogun is one of the best fighters in the world. In an interview with Fighters Only Magazine, White stated that Rua is "probably two fights away from being considered again."

With the light heavyweight division being as stacked as it is, White stated that the only way to decide if Shogun is ready to challenge for the title again is to watch the fights,

"You've got to see how the fights go, there's a lot of factors that come into play," White said.

If Rua cannot go out and win in dominant fashion, he may be passed up by one of the many deserving candidates in the top ten like Lyoto Machida or possibly Dan Henderson, if the UFC would choose to have a title unification match.

Shogun wants to show the UFC, as well as Brazil that Griffin's win in the first fight was a fluke, and with a possible title shot on the horizon, he'll look to do it in dominant fashion.