Dana White isn’t shy about vocalizing when he thinks athletes on
the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster should call it a
career.
Following a non-competitive effort in a second-round technical
knockout loss in a rematch with Paul Craig
at UFC 255, Mauricio Rua
is the UFC president’s latest target. Craig dominated the light
heavyweight bout with grappling and takedowns before finishing off
“Shogun” with punches from back mount — the Brazilian veteran
tapped to the onslaught — at the 3:36 mark of Round 2.
“[Paul
Craig] looked good and not to take anything away from him at
all, he came and did what he had to do tonight but just being
honest, Shogun didn’t look like Shogun to me tonight,” White said
at the UFC 255 post-fight press conference.
“Shogun looked old and looked like a shell of his former self
tonight. Yeah, I’d like to see him hang it up hopefully.”
Heading into Saturday night, the 38-year-old Rua had defied the
odds to win five of his previous seven UFC appearances, with a
split draw against Craig and a KO defeat to Anthony
Smith the only blemishes on his ledger during that time. Since
2015, “Shogun” had also earned wins over the likes of Corey
Anderson, Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira (twice), Tyson Pedro
and Gian
Villante.
However, the latest performance doesn’t seem to forecast future
success for the former Pride Fighting Championships standout, whose
last four defeats have come via knockout.
“I think he has two fights left on his deal,” White said. “But
yeah, I’d like to see him retire.”