Every time Mauricio “Shogun” Rua fights, it’s a tightrope walk between feeling totally bummed out that he’s about to be murdered and feeling elated when he doesn’t die.
In the co-main event of last night’s UFC Fight Night 142, when Shogun fought Tyson Pedro, it was – thankfully – the latter.
Things started off rough, though. Since Shogun like to play the “Hmmm, Let’s See How Much Damage I Can Absorb” Game, he let Pedro beat the heck out of him for the entire first round. Pretty much every kick and punch Pedro threw landed, and Shogun had to clinch up to survive.
Pedro rocks Shogun!#UFCAdelaide pic.twitter.com/8ryCXL3Bcg
— UFC (@ufc) December 2, 2018
But that was pretty much it in terms of Pedro’s gas tank.
Shogun got him down and dominated top position in the second, and in the third, he landed a killer right hand that dropped the Aussie and rained down hammerfists until the ref intervened.
SHOGUN!#UFCAdelaide pic.twitter.com/edIh5002ck
— UFC (@ufc) December 2, 2018
This win by no means should imply that Shogun is in line for a title shot, or even “back”. It’s just a single moment in time where we should feel good that Shogun rode off into battle and didn’t killed.