One of the most expected fights of 2011 will be the first title defense of the UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who’ll face the newcomer Jon Jones on UFC 128, which happens on March 19th.

The American is been cheered by the local media and pointed out as the favorite, but the ones who are aware of the power of Shogun’s hands know well the difficulties Jones will go through. That’s the case of Rogerio "Minotouro" Nogueira, who fought the current champion back on Pride’s GP, in 2005.

The athletes had one of the greatest battles in all history and each knock the other down once, but Shogun was declared the winner on a unanimous decision of the judges. Having met him closely, Minotouro revealed to TATAME that he considers the Brazilian the favorite and believe the belt shall remain here, in Brazil.

"It’ll be a pretty tough fight, there’re no doubts. Jon Jones is the guy now, people are creating great expectations about him, but particularly disagree. In my opinion, Shogun has a sharper Boxing than Jones, and he has got more game. Jon Jones is talented, has a great reach, but he hasn’t confronted a guy like Shogun. I believe Shogun will win this one, I’d bet on him, because I believe he has got more game than Jones. But every fight is unique, right?", commented the fighter, who’ll fight Phil Davis on UFC Fight Night 24, on March 26th.