At the tail end of an uninspired UFC Fight Night, fans in Uberlandia, Brazil waited until nearly 4:00am local time to cheer on their national hero.
All was forgiven as Mauricio Rua made his walk to the Octagon, but unfortunately for them it lasted longer than the actual main event against Ovince St. Preux.
St. Preux scored the win of his career just 34 seconds into the opening round when a counter left hook sent a charging 'Shogun' to the canvas. The bout was called as St. Preux mopped up with a flurry of strikes to the grounded Rua.
Swallowing another tough loss, his fourth in five fights dating back to 2012, Rua admitted he'd be discussing his future with his team.
"Losing is always bad," Rua said via a translator during the event's post-fight presser. "At this weight class and heavyweight when that punch lands, you feel it. But I'm going to get through this loss, talk to my team and talk about the future, but defeats always suck."
Speaking about the punch itself, Rua takes the blame.
"Unfortunately, he was happy to land a good punch," said Rua. "The punch landed clean and that's when the knockout happens. He was happy to get it. I made a mistake."
Not exactly hoping to degrade the caliber of his win, St. Preux admitted he was 'surprised' at how quickly the fight ended.
"I don't think he was slow at all," said St. Preux. "The thing about me is that I'm super explosive and I can take you to the ground super quickly. I think he mistook my reach so I was able to catch him. I don't think he's slow, he still has it. He hit me with a couple of good leg kicks."
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'I don't think it will last five rounds.' Lyoto Machida believes he'll finish CB Dollaway. 'I have learned a lot in my fight against (Chris) Weidman, so it's likely that I will finish this fight before the fifth round.'
'God punished him.' John Lineker wants a UFC flyweight title shot after Ian McCall was forced to pull out of their fight this past weekend. 'Since I wanted to fight (McCall) and ask for a shot at the title, why can't I just go ahead and fight the champion?'
29-28. Alan Jouban and Warlley Alves comment on their controversial decision from this weekend in Brazil.
'No one was happy with Bjorn Rebney.' Muhammed Lawal discusses how things are working differently in Bellator under Scott Coker.
'With all due respect.' Chris Weidman thinks a third fight against Anderson Silva would be an 'easy payday.'
MEDIA STEW
Highlights from Shogun vs. OSP.
Octagon interviews with Luke Rockhold and Al Iaquinta.
Countdown to UFC 180: Fabricio Werdum vs. Mark Hunt.
Highlights from the UFC: Fight Night Sydney press conference.
Luke Rockhold's One-handed Guillotine (Gracie Breakdown feat. CM Punk)
Luke Thomas is pissed.
Not sure what to make of this Matt Major interview.
Long watches.
#LauzonShow Ep1 with Joe Lauzon and Sherdog's Jack Encarnacao
TWEETS
Victory lap.
Sunday was a fun day in Manly @chris_enever @followthefishtv @msmariahv good times! Thanks for the love everybod... http://t.co/X41PcoLWzL
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) November 9, 2014
and I kill performance of the night tonight @ufc @the_ironsheik pic.twitter.com/iHO3XVFvBM
— AL IAQUINTA (@ALIAQUINTA) November 8, 2014
Yesterday we went to war! But now theres no hard feelings and we shake hands. #Sportsmanship #NoHardFeelings pic.twitter.com/cFSqbuuFAb
— Soa The Hulk Palelei (@soathehulk) November 9, 2014
Thanks for the messages of support and congratulations. I won my match in the 1st round by RNC. Time to do a bit of celebrating #UFCSydney
— Anthony Perosh (@AnthonyPerosh) November 8, 2014
We are very happy right now pic.twitter.com/TzP9jcjqUq
— Sam Alvey (@smilensam) November 10, 2014
Just got back home to hawaii and this is the first thing I see lol, watch it with the volume on... http://t.co/yu1FY2ME5C
— Louis Smolka (@LASTSAMURAIUFC) November 9, 2014
I would to say thank you to @ufc & all the staff at @UFC_CA working #ufcsydney for amazing opportunity and experience! #thankyou #grateful
— Chris Clements (@menaceclements) November 9, 2014
Looking forward to teaching MMA class at resilience training centre tonight hope to see some new faces!
— Daniel Kelly (@DanKellyJudo) November 9, 2014
Damn,how can this not get a bonus?@danawhite @ufc #UFCFightNight55 http://t.co/mmhHYCLOEL
— Marcus Brimage (@Brim205) November 8, 2014
Are you #DownWithOSP ?!@TrainingMask @Hayabusa_MMA @TacticalMMA #winning pic.twitter.com/cZDpo2YDLD
— Ovince St. Preux (@003_OSP) November 9, 2014
Thank God one more victory, damaged bodywork! But happy for another fight?
Graças a Deus mais uma vitória, lataria avariada! Mas feliz por mais uma luta? http://t.co/76e6YrBf3M
— Warlley Alves (@warlleyalvesmma) November 9, 2014
After the war yesterday that lunch at the home of mommy because I deserve ne. #filhomimado #comidamineira #domingaocmminharainha #familiaetudo #bairrotocantins
Depois da guerra de ontem aquele almoco na casa da mamae porque eu mereco ne. #filhomimado... http://t.co/PG237mm7FI
— claudiohannibalsilva (@ClaudiobjjSilva) November 9, 2014
Thank you God for this victory thank you my team, family and everyone for the support love you all,... http://t.co/9uFdXCGVMj
— Dhiego Lima (@DhLimaMMA) November 9, 2014
I want to thank my opposing party ninaansaroff and @ amanda_leoa1 say she was one very tough opponent @, besides being very humble and good people! Thanks for the warrior fight, I know that this defeat served as experience as well as my first defeat served to take a step ahead! Congratulations on being such a great athlete! Thank you!
Quero agradecer minha opoente ninaansaroff e @amanda_leoa dizer que ela foi uma@oponente muito dura,... http://t.co/bLnv7UFyrc
— Juliana Lima (@juthaimma) November 9, 2014
I can only thank God and all of you who give me strength to keep me focused on my goals! And our gloverteixeira gsmnu danilodragon #esmaltec OSSs and family
Só tenho a agradecer a Deus e todos vocês que me fortalecem pra me manter focado nos meus objetivos! E... http://t.co/VQBl3AbcWZ
— Caio Magalhaes (@CaioHellboy) November 9, 2014
Vitoria my friends, was a war, I'm very happy, I have a lot to improve and so will always seek progress. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the messages and good vibes, not know it was so well loved, and it just makes me want more and more !! Big hug to all
Vitoria meus amigos, foi uma guerra, estou muito feliz, tenho muito o que melhorar e assim será,... http://t.co/YCRiK0RwkO
— Thomas Almeida (@ThomasalmeidaCB) November 9, 2014
Better luck next time.
Not my day at the office! Fuck this sport is crazy felt great going into the fight! Well done Al & his team Serra/Longo I will be back
— Ross Pearson (@RossTheRealDeal) November 8, 2014
Much respect to @RJWhittaker1990 kids has a bright future!!! Def a beast!!! #ufcsydney @x3sports @ufc
— Clint Hester (@clinthester) November 8, 2014
I'm sorry guys! Me desculpem pessoal!
— Guto Inocente (@GutoInocente) November 8, 2014
Hey everyone just letting ya know I'm all good, and all my fans fucking rock,all your guys support means the world
— Dylan Andrews (@dylanthevillian) November 8, 2014
Dignity in defeat with the legend @shogunofficial #ufcfightnight56 #brazil http://t.co/Nj4hJNfWUe pic.twitter.com/9CyGwzrjKb
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) November 9, 2014
I love every minute of my sport and what I do. Thank you everyone for your support!
— Trevor Smith (@trevorsmithmma) November 9, 2014
$50,000 Fight of the night bonus!!!! That was fun. Thx @danawhite & @lorenzofertitta Thank you all for the love & support! #Iowa #DesMoines
— Timmy Gorman UFC (@TimmyGormanMMA) November 9, 2014
Agree?
.@AlanJouban got straight up robbed last night. Terrible decision.
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) November 9, 2014
Nice to see.
What an emotional shit show this week was for me... Sorry guys I hope I'll be back fighting @johnlineker again before years end.
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) November 9, 2014
At least one person isn't to mad at me about all of this shit that happened this week http://t.co/zqkJU8okFo pic.twitter.com/kyl5mweNPY
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) November 9, 2014
@One_Punch @johnlineker I'll be 100% once the antibiotics kick in. Hopefully we can reschedule for next month or so. Thanks pal
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) November 9, 2014
But then...
My colleagues surprise me! One can't make the weight, another can't handle his nerves. @danawhite @Unclecreepymma @johnlineker
— Ali Bagautinov (@AliPuncherKing) November 9, 2014
@AliPuncherKing @danawhite @johnlineker wow now you have someone to type proper English for you. Thats a good start. #idiot #cheater
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) November 9, 2014
@AliPuncherKing @danawhite @johnlineker lol @ufc Drs pulls me out cuz I'm sick and your Drs seem to pump you full of dope? #winner
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) November 9, 2014
Get well soon.
Was hard to watch the fight last night. Osp did a quick job on shogun.Well done to him. This has fuelled my hunger even more. #lionseatfirst
— jimi manuwa (@POSTERBOYJM) November 9, 2014
The lhw division is in trouble when I return shortly @danawhite @ufc
— jimi manuwa (@POSTERBOYJM) November 9, 2014
Damn.
Feel like a newborn baby! It had to go, people were mistaking me for Dan Bilzerian. Too m... http://t.co/oMeVmRnFB5 pic.twitter.com/wfAnZbYjpQ
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) November 10, 2014
Unbelievable the type of businesses that are started in Amsterdam. http://t.co/xBhbbAPFg7 pic.twitter.com/QX59bG6ZwI
— Gegard Mousasi (@mousasi_mma) November 9, 2014
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced this weekend (Oct. 8-10 2014)
NA
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