Shogun Rua reveals he got injured during his UFC 255 fight; Considering retirement

MMA legend Shogun Rua has taken to his official Instagram account and shed light upon his fight against Paul Craig at UFC 255.

Rua, fondly referred to by his fans worldwide simply as Shogun, suffered a second-round TKO defeat at the hands of Paul Craig at UFC 255.

Shogun Rua and Paul Craig’s first fight ended in a split draw

The first fight between Rua and Craig transpired in November of last year. The fight witnessed Rua hold a slight edge in the grappling realm, whereas Craig troubled Shogun with his long-range striking attacks.

Their first fight went the three-round distance and was declared by the judges as a split draw. Both fighters subsequently picked up one victory each in their respective fights, before their rematch at UFC 255.

Shogun Rua vs. Paul Craig 2 ended with a TKO win for Craig

Shogun Rua entered his UFC 255 Light Heavyweight bout against Paul Craig, looking to secure another victory and continue ascending towards the top of the division he once ruled.

The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion gave Craig a tough challenge in round one of the bout. The first round’s scorecards could’ve gone either way however, the second one turned out to be much different.

Paul Craig executed a brilliant takedown on Shogun Rua in round two and proceeded to force Rua to tap to strikes. Craig, thereby, defeated the UFC and Pride legend via second-round TKO and added a high-profile win to his MMA resume.

Paul Craig taps out Shogun Rua due to strikes! 👋@PCraigmma doing Scotland proud! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿#UFC255 pic.twitter.com/5q3wRVIGXJ

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) November 22, 2020

Shogun Rua suffered an injury during the UFC 255 fight and is alluding to retirement

Shogun Rua has competed as a professional Mixed Martial Artist since 2002.

Rua has fought several notable opponents over the course of his long and storied career, including names such as Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Alistair Overeem, Mark Coleman, Dan Henderson, Jon Jones, and Lyoto Machida to name a few.

The fan-favorite Brazilian fighter has entertained one and all, irrespective of whether he wins or loses, and is well-known for his exciting style of fighting.

Nevertheless, Shogun Rua is 38 years of age and has been the recipient of a significant amount of wear and tear after countless wars throughout his long combat sports career.

Considering that, certain sections of the MMA community, including UFC President Dana White, have suggested that Shogun Rua would be better off retiring from active MMA competition.

On that note, Rua has now revealed that he suffered an elbow injury after Paul Craig executed a takedown on him during their UFC 255 matchup.

Shogun also insinuated that he could consider retiring from MMA. Fans can check out Rua’s statement, which he issued via his Instagram account, below:

“Unfortunately things didn’t go out the way I would have liked last night , and this is a part of our sport. I suffered an injury to my elbow on the first time I was taken down, but this serves as no excuse, as it is part of fighting and it doesn’t take way any merits from my opponent."

"An athletes’ career is not only made of glory and thank God I was already blessed many times with the reward of victory, due to a lot of sacrifices and effort, that only those who live our everyday routine really knows what we go trough."

"I want to thank all the amazing support from you guys, as always. I’m blessed for being able to do this for 18 years already, and here in 2020 you guys are the great motivation I carry with me, and that it makes me continue this far. Now I’m going to rest with my family, and think about my career. I know that my mission in this sport goes way beyond the octagon as well. Thanks a lot guys”

Rua is a sure-shot UFC Hall Of Famer and has enjoyed one of the most successful careers in the sport of MMA. It would be interesting to see what decision will be taken by Shogun takes regarding his career inside the octagon.