This time Shogun worked even harder on his striking. Photo: Josh Hedges
Maurício Shogun knocked Lyoto Machida out in the first round at UFC 113 this Saturday, and again he has found his place at the top of the MMA world, like during the days of Pride FC. After the show, in Canada, Shogun was all joy:
“I’m so happy! This belt is my dream, my life. I trained hard every day for this!”
In the octagon, the Curitiba native stated that one of his strategies for beating Lyoto was to brush up on his striking. At the press conference, he said what else he had done differently.
“In the first fight I trained a lot based on Lyoto’s game, which is different. This time I looked to take more risks, expose myself more and finish the fight quickly. Thank God, I managed to impose my tactics and get the knockout,” explained the fighter, who again remarked on the result from the first fight against Lyoto.
“For this fight, I didn’t even think about the first one. There was a lot of controversy the last time, but it just served as motivation for me. It served to make me train hard and get this win.”
The knockout came at 3:35 minutes of the first round. The new champion commented on the moment.
“I saw he was dazed by the first punch, so I mounted and kept hitting till the ref intervened. Truth is, I stopped hitting before the ref broke it up. When we see the opportunity to get the knockout, we try not to miss it. But he was already stunned by the first punch.
After having made it to the top of the world MMA ranking, having won a thorny GP at Pride FC, Shogun dealt with injuries and underperformed. Back at the top, with the UFC title, he again takes his place among the best in the world.
“I always believed I could make it to where I am today. I always had confidence in myself and pursued my dream of being the UFC champion of the world.”
In finishing, as he had already told GRACIEMAG.com previously, Shogun stressed that he is a professional fighter and the only one he wouldn’t face is his friend Wanderlei Silva. Or in other words, if the UFC puts him against Anderson Silva, the door is wide open.