Dana White says Shogun rather be cut than fight Glover Teixeira

[petter0619]

Interim titles are fine... as long as the interim champ actually defends the title if the real champion is out for long. As for former champs fighting up and comers... well, the UFC needs to do a better job of marketing it's up and coming fighters, and fighters period. With all their bigger name guys getting injured it's real hard for casual fans to care much about different cards when they all end up being filled with 90% fighters they've never heard of before.

[Best80smovieRAD]

Shogun spoke to mmajunkie and explained why he wouldn't fight Glover

Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua said today that he turned down a fight with Glover Teixeira at UFC 149 because Texeira didn't offer the kind of name recognition that would advance his career.

"Since Teixeira has only one fight on his UFC record, my crew didn't think that was interesting to fight him at this time," Rua told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) through a translator.

Rua denied telling UFC president Dana White he would rather be cut from the UFC than take the fight, as MMAjunkie.com previously reported.

"That was a miscommunication," Rua said.

Teixiera (18-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was proposed as a replacement after Rua's original opponent, Thiago Silva, was forced to withdraw from UFC 149 with a back injury. After Rua (20-6 MMA, 4-4 UFC) turned down the fight, he was re-booked opposite Brandon Vera (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) in a UFC on FOX 4 headliner when the original main event, Brian Stann vs. Hector Lombard, was scratched due to injury.

"It's one of those very weird situations to hear one of the top-five guys in the world say, 'I'd rather be cut than fight a guy who isn't ranked,' and the reason they were saying that was, 'Oh, he's not top 10,'" White said following this month's UFC on FX 3 event. "But then we offered him Vera, and he took it in two seconds – and Vera isn't top 10 either."

Rua pointed out that Silva also isn't ranked in the top 10.

"But [Silva and Vera] do have a record in the UFC," he said. "Everybody knows them. That was the difference."

He said he was adamant from the get-go about not taking a fight with Teixeira, who made a long-awaited promotional debut at UFC 146 and earned an impressive first-round submission victory over Kyle Kingsbury.

"I made it clear to my crew and the UFC that I wasn't interested in fighting Teixeira at this moment but I would entertain that idea in the near future after a couple of more fights," Rua said. "The only reason is he has a short history in the UFC, and he's not very well known so far."

White, however, was unmoved by that reasoning.

"Me and (UFC CEO) Lorenzo (Fertitta) said, 'Look, you can't turn down fights at this level. The money you're making and where you are ranked in the world, you don't turn down fights at this level. We might have to cut you,'" White said. "[Rua] said, 'I'd rather be cut than fight him.'"

But instead, Rua will fight Vera, whom he said is a better option.

"I'm happy fighting Brandon Vera because he has good muay Thai," Rua said. "He's very known with the UFC, and he was part of several important events in the UFC. He has way more impact than the other fighters, so that's the reason why we decided to fight him."

[PITTFOX]

Not buying it. Hopefully this can happen down the road though.

[Cbear]

Dana says he would cut Shogun if he turned down a lose/lose fight? Is he ****ing serious? Guys like Hendo, Shogun, Wandy, Ace are battle tested veterens and should be matched with names of similar value out of simple respect for what they have given the sport and UFC. Asking a big name veteren to fight a no-name newcomer is just a waste of the big name. If Big name wins it means jack ****. If he loses, it hurts his standing and earning power. Its stupid for a big name main eventer to want to fight a dangerous no-name. Fighting a dangerous name is fine as Shogun points out. Threatening to cut Shogun......sheesh what an arrogant ass. Andy didnt want to rematch is arch nemesis Shell and Dana didnt threat to cut him.

[Lemony Snicket]

Shogun is full of ****. Brandon Vera hasnt been relevant since the days of Playstation....1.

[Cbear]

None of the 3 names offered him are relevant at this point but 2 of them at least have been heard of before.

[Lemony Snicket]

I think theres alot to be said for going in there against a too prospect and dominating them. In Glover's case, a guy the boss is hyping like hes the next Bones Jones. He just knows he'll end up tapping or getting KOZ'd and end up fighting Jason Brilz next.

[Cbear]

I think theres alot to be said for going in there against a too prospect and dominating them. In Glover's case, a guy the boss is hyping like hes the next Bones Jones. He just knows he'll end up tapping or getting KOZ'd and end up fighting Jason Brilz next.

Its a manager/agents job to keep their fighters from taking fights that could be detrimental to their career. That doesnt mean not taking a fight because of the risk of losing, but of taking a fight with no upside and potentially a big downside. Aging, big name fighters that are finally making money such as Shogun and Wandy only have so many fights left in their beaten down bodies and they need to make the most of it. Its one thing getting beaten up by the champion and losing a close war with another legend but its another animal all together to risk getting beat by a young bull with great skills that nobody knows. For Shogun, its all lose/lose. For Glover, its all win/win. Glovers manager should be begging to make that fight and Shoguns manager should rightfully be turning it down. Thats just smart business. And Dana should recognize that it does NOT maximize Shoguns potential drawing power to make this match. I would love to see Shogun/Rampage II, Shogun/Hendo II, Shogun/Machida VI and other "name" matches even if they are rematches. I don't care to see Shogun/Glover/Vera or any other de-valued fight.

Glover is going to have the same problem getting "name" fights that Kane and Junior had when they were starting out and insiders knew they were beasts but the casual fan didnt know who they were. He will destroy a handful of lower level guys until fans get to know him and see him as a threat and then the big name fights will come.

[ante_up81]

Ehh who cares shogun deserves a tune up fight after a long layoff... Hopefully that means a quick turnaround for his next fight and the timing works out for a big name

[Cbear]

Ehh who cares shogun deserves a tune up fight after a long layoff... Hopefully that means a quick turnaround for his next fight and the timing works out for a big name

I think the one fight we all want to see is Shogun whipping Rampages ass and sending him off to further his endeavors making millions of dollars elsewhere. Anything less seems a let down. And Rampage doesnt want that fight so here we are. At this point, Shogun needs a knee surgery after every fight or two so lets not waste him on up and comers. Name vs Name is what Im looking for.