‘Shogun’ revamps training staff: Recruits Freddie Roach, reunites with Mark Munoz & Rafael Cordeiro

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Mauricio Rua is looking for a fresh start.

After losing to Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on FOX 5 last December in Seattle, Washington, "Shogun" is going back to the drawing board as he looks to plug up a few holes in his fight game while polishing up his all-around mixed martial arts (MMA) skills.

And he's bringing in the big guns to do it.

According to one of his trainers, Andre Dida, Rua will bring in a few familiar faces to his next camp as he reunites with former Chute Boxe trainer and head honcho at Kings MMA, Rafael Cordeiro, who has been in and out of the Brazilian's camp for the past couple of years.

On top of that, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion will brush up on his wrestling skills under the tutelage of current UFC middleweight contender and former NCAA Division 1 Champion, Mark Munoz.

Dida's words to Tatame:

"Shogun is a guy who knows everything about MMA, trains well in all areas, but noted that he has to seek further knowledge, have more activities, new workouts. That's always good for any athlete, and Shogun will be no different. He has excellent wrestling, workouts out there will evolve too. We talked with Mark Munoz in Seattle and he was excited to train with Mauricio again. They trained together at Kings MMA, and it was there that our friendship has also increased. We exchanged many experiences. But Mauricio will also train with Jacob Rocha, a guy who trains the American Wrestling in college, then it is a complete workout of Wrestling. His students have great results in California, earn everything. It will be a great experience for Mauricio. The expectation is that Shogun will go to the United States in February after Carnival. There, he will meet with Rafael Cordeiro, since the coach will be in Brazil for the recordings of TUF Brazil 2."

As if Rua's striking wasn't dangerous enough already, the Brazilian bomber will look to polish his technique as he heads west to train with famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach, who has helped multiple boxing champions such as Manny Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya reach the pinnacle of the sport as well as tossing a few pointers to UFC titleholders Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva.

"Here in America, Shogun also trains with Freddie Roach, who is the trainer of Manny Pacquiao in boxing. The knockout power of Mauricio is very large, his Muay Thai is very sharp, and we think these workouts will leave you with a footprint standing even stronger."

Over his last eight bouts inside the Octagon, "Shogun" has alternated wins and losses, failing to put together consecutive victories since 2009 when he defeated Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell in a span of four months.

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off topic a little here but what is going on with Munoz? Is he gonna fight some time soon?

Finally! I hope he doesn't train in Brazil, he needs to get his ass to a camp in the States. This is a step in the right direction, I think.

Gecko wrote:

off topic a little here but what is going on with Munoz? Is he gonna fight some time soon?

He's not even tentitively scheduled to fight anyone as of now.
As far as I know he is not injured. Maybe he just needs some time to get over one of the worst beatdowns I've seen in the UFC.

End of career, camp shuffles. They usually result in a one or two fight resurgence but when the end is near the end is near...

IDK I think Roach could do wonders with Shogun... I'm not certain he is done quite yet.

I think Shogun's biggest opponent right now is father time. The biggest thing for his career would be improved strength and conditioning which he's probably too late in life for any more.
I think he's one big ko away from being completely done. I thought Gustafsson was easy on him by not going for the finish when Shogun was clearly finished several times during that fight.

Gecko wrote:

off topic a little here but what is going on with Munoz?

Weidman stole his soul...