The final fight of the MMA career for Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua is set to go down next January to kick off 2023.
The former light heavyweight champion is expected to face Ihor Potieria at the upcoming UFC 283 card scheduled on Jan. 21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Recognized as one of the greatest 205-pound fighters in history, Rua stated prior to his last outing that he was planning on competing two more times before calling it a career. Rua ultimately fell to Ovince Saint-Preux in a razor-close split decision and he’s been out of action ever since.
Now it appears the Brazilian will take what could be his last trip to the cage while competing in front of a home audience with the upcoming card in Rio.
As for Potieria, he’ll make his second appearance in the UFC after joining the promotion by way of The Contender Series. The Ukrainian born fighter was on a 15-fight undefeated streak before falling to Nicolae Negumereanu in his octagon debutin July.
When he returns, Potieria will seek to pick up his first UFC win while going up against an icon of the sport in Rua.
The upcoming UFC 283 card is still not finalized but the event will feature at least one title fight as Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno will clash for a fourth time with flyweight gold going up for grabs.
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