Dana White Discusses ‘Shogun’ Rua
Posted on 09 Jun 2012
by MMAScoops.com Staff

UFC President Dana White spoke with MMAJunkie about Mauricio "Shogun" Rua refusing to fight Glover Teixeira, saying that he would rather be released than fight him, before being given a headlining position of facing Brandon Vera at UFC on FOX 4.

White's take on Rua's decision: "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.' But then we offered him Brandon Vera and he took it in two seconds – and Vera isn't top 10 either. 'Shogun's' on free TV (now), and he's coming off one of the greatest fights ever in mixed-martial-arts history."

"The reality is, 'Shogun' is a guy whom I respect. The guy's been through a million wars with all the best guys in the world. But for some reason, he does not want to fight this dude Glover. And you know me – if you don't want me to tell the truth, don't say stuff to me on the phone. That's exactly what happened. That's exactly the way it went down. And 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.' He said, 'I'd rather be cut than fight him.'"