For the better part of the opening round, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira partied like it was 2005.
The duo engaged in a rock ‘em, sock ‘em opening round Saturday night in the co-feature bout of UFC 190 before things settled down into a battle of attrition.
In the end, just like their classic PRIDE bout a decade ago, Rua emerged victorious, as the former UFC light heavyweight champion earned a unanimous decision. The judges' scores were 29-28 across the board.
"I know he was a tough guy," Rua said. "I knew he'd be well prepared, but I won, I got the victory."
Rua seemed to set the tone by peppering Nogueira with body kicks. But "Little Nog" altered the fight's tenor by rocking Rua with a straight right hand, then opening up with a flurry while the standing Rua covered up.
"I did feel that punch, I knew I had to recuperate and I got back into the fight," Rua said.
Nogueira, while winning the round, simply couldn't put the fight away, and Rua had recovered his wits by the end of the round.
Rua chose not to engage in a firefight the rest of the way. He picked his spots, continued to land big kicks, and scored takedowns when needed, as he rode his way to the decision.
Rua (22-1) snapped a two-fight losing streak, while Nogueira (21-7) lost his second in a row.