The UFC 283 main event will feature 43-year-old Brazilian, Glover Teixeira attempting to recapture the light heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill. The preliminary card for the PPV features another Brazilian veteran in the form of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The 41-year-old veteran will fight Ihor Potieria in the final bout of the prelims.
Shogun (27-13-1) is a legend of the sport who has held titles in many promotions. Most recently, Rua lost a close fight against Ovince Saint Preux in 2022. However, many argued that the decision victory could have very easily been awarded to him.
Rua became the UFC LHW champion at UFC 104 after beating Lyoto Machida. He would go on to defend it successfully in the rematch before losing it to Jon Jones at UFC 128. The legendary fighter has also confirmed that this fight will be his retirement bout.
Mauricio Rua 'retiring from all sport' at #UFC283, won't return to combat https://t.co/n3Ipog1iaO
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 18, 2023
On the other hand, Ihor Potieria is a light heavyweight prospect who will be fighting in only his second UFC bout at UFC 283. He earned a UFC contract from Dana White’s Contender Series after knocking out Lucasz Sudolski in the first round. Potieria is currently 0-1 in his UFC career after getting knocked out in the second round by Nicole Negumereanu.
Rua vs Potieria: stats head-to-head
Stats | Mauricio Rua | Ihor Potieria |
---|---|---|
Wins | 27 | 19 |
Losses | 13 | 3 |
Height | 1.85 m | 1.91 m |
Division | Light Heavyweight | Light Heavyweight |
Reach | 193 cm | 191 cm |
Age | 41 | 26 |
Mauricio Rua vs Ihor Potieria: Fight Breakdown
Shogun Rua is a solid striker with good power. Additionally, Rua has good grappling skills, but he rarely employs that part of his skill set. Rua has won 78% of his fights via knockout, a lot compared to Potieria’s 47%. He also has significantly better takedown and submission averages compared to his opponent.
However, Potieria is the victor when it comes to significant strikes landed per minute. He averages 4.58 strikes compared to Rua’s 3.57. This will be a significant hurdle in Rua’s way. He has been competing at the highest level of MMA for a long time. This means the Brazilian has also accrued more damage than his young opponent. At 41, his reflexes and movement will also be slower.
However, a habit of Potieria will somewhat mitigate this. Ihor is known to be a little heavy-handed and flat-footed at times. He has the tendency to stand and trade with his opponents. This causes him to absorb a lot of punishment, causing him to gas out early.
And this habit of his is reflected in the significant strikes absorbed statistic. The Ukrainian fighter absorbs nearly twice the number of strikes per minute compared to his opponent, 2.77 to 5.89.
Such telling statistics and the fighters’ styles mean this matchup will favor Rua. Despite being over the age of 40, he is still an excellent striker. And if he is able to survive the first round and gas out Potieria, he will have an easy path to victory. It seems the pieces have fallen into place for Rua to have a perfect retirement in his home country of Brazil.
Prediction: Mauricio Rua to win via KO/TKO