Shogun Hopes to Avenge Wanderlei

by bigcherry on Feb 5, 2008 12:06 PM EST

Here's a translation of a Shogun´s interview by Tatame here in Brazil. As you guys probably already know, Shogun signed a fight with Chuck Liddell for June:

Shogun: "I will avenge Wanderlei"

On the road to Praia do Rosa, in Santa Catarina, where he will spend the Carnival with his wife, Mauricio Shogun confirmed to TATAME the confrontation against Chuck Liddell for June in the UFC. " I´ve confirmed that fight yesterday. It´s all set for June and I hope to make a big fight and represent well my new team, the Universidade da Luta - UDL (Fight University), "said Shogun, which hopes to avenge his friend Wanderlei Silva, who was defeated by Liddell at UFC 79.

"Certainly I will avenge Wanderlei," said the athlete, who hopes to make an knowledge exchange with Wanderlei for the fight. "He passed by Curitiba (where Shogun lives) very fast and left for Natal, but he called me and we chatted quite a bit. We will exchange knowledge for the fight, but I do not know when that will happen. Everything depends on the strategy that my team will assemble for this fight," explained Shogun, and he is already analyzing the game of the American.

"He has a very good Boxing and Wrestling. The game of Liddell is to stand and trade with a good takedown defense, then it could be a mistake to try to put him down, because that requires a lot of strength. Although I'm yet to draw the best tactic with Alejo Morales, my brother and the rest of the team, I can exchange with him on my feet without problems and win this fight standing up," Shogun closed.

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Re: Shogun Hopes to Avenge Wanderlei

If Liddell takes this fight as seriously as the Wanderlei fight, Shogun doesn't have a prayer.

by Luke Thomas on Feb 5, 2008 2:35 PM EST reply actions

Re: Shogun Hopes to Avenge Wanderlei

You're damn right.

And if you think Wandy looked too small at 205 next to Chuck, Shogun is going to look teeny-tiny. They list Shogun at 6'1", but he looked dinky next to Forrest (6'3"). I almost feel bad for the poor kid.

Maybe now that he's been out of Pride for a while, somebody will take an interest in the kid and teach him how to properly cycle on and off the steroids the way we do in America. (I was going to put a smiley here, but it's sadly true.)

by jemaleddin on Feb 5, 2008 9:22 PM EST up reply actions

Re: Shogun Hopes to Avenge Wanderlei

He ought to cut down to 185

by Kid Nate on Feb 5, 2008 9:42 PM EST up reply actions

Re: Shogun Hopes to Avenge Wanderlei

Also true. And I don't think he's going to be prepared for Chuck's brand of striking - just about nobody is.

It's almost like Dana has it in for the Pride guys, isn't it? Maybe he didn't see Rua losing to Griffin, but now he's got to know that he's tossing this kid to the wolves...

by jemaleddin on Feb 5, 2008 9:47 PM EST up reply actions

Re: Shogun Hopes to Avenge Wanderlei

If Rua is an actual contender, then why shouldn't he be fighting other contenders?

by Richard Wade on Feb 5, 2008 10:48 PM EST up reply actions

Re: Shogun Hopes to Avenge Wanderlei

Before the Forrest fight everyone would've been singing a different tune. Now that Shogun just lost badly and Chuck dominated Wanderlei everyone's talking about this fight like the dinner Shogun eats before the fight is going to be his last meal.

Both guys are dynamic fighters. Chuck is going to be bigger and has the advantage with his counter striking style but he's been rocked before and it can happen again. Anyone remember a time not too long ago when Shogun was ranked #1 in the world?

I'm still picking Chuck here; my point is that this fight is not entirely one-sided nor is Shogun being thrown to the wolves. If you are an elite fighter you need to fight other elite fighters and that's simply what's happening here. If Shogun fights Liddell all the internet "smart" fans say he's being tossed to the lions for Dana White's pleasure; if they were to put Shogun against Matt Hammil everyone would say it's too easy of a fight and they're disrespecting Shogun's ability by not having him fight a legit contender. It seems everyone just needs to be a negative critic on everything despite not actually working for the UFC.

by dropkick101 on Feb 5, 2008 11:06 PM EST reply actions

Re: Shogun Hopes to Avenge Wanderlei

No one said it was a bad matchup, we just don't give Shogun much of a chance.
Earlier I said it showed they don't care about Shogun and aren't bringing him along slowly. That's obviously true. It's make or break for Shogun.

by Kid Nate on Feb 5, 2008 11:41 PM EST up reply actions

Re: Shogun Hopes to Avenge Wanderlei

That's a good point. We like to brag that MMA is more real than boxing in that it's okay for fighters to have a loss on their record, but fans are pretty unforgiving about going 0-2. When was the last time anybody bragged about Mirko being one of the most dangerous strikers in MMA?

Having him lose to Chuck, a guy already a couple steps removed from the title, doesn't help Shogun's reputation at all. Especially not if Chuck dominates him.

by jemaleddin on Feb 6, 2008 6:59 AM EST up reply actions