To hear Dana White tell it, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua really doesn't want to fight Glover Teixeira.
That news came out earlier this month. But on Friday, White expanded on Rua's decision to turn down a fight with the new UFC light heavyweight prospect – saying the former champion was even willing to be released from the organization rather than take a fight with Teixeira.
"He would rather be cut than fight him," White said following Friday's post-fight press conference for UFC on FX 3.
Rua was scheduled to face Thiago Silva at UFC 149 next month, but Silva fell off the card with an injury. And as MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) first reported earlier this month, the UFC asked Rua to take on fellow Brazilian Teixeira, who this past month debuted in the promotion with a first-round submission of Kyle Kingsbury to extend his winning streak to 16.
With Rua turning down that fight, he was shifted earlier this week to the headlining spot of UFC on FOX 4 in August, where he'll now meet Brandon Vera.
"No (I'm not OK with him saying that)," White said of Rua. "But you know what? 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."
The new situation does have some benefits, White said. With a previous UFC on FOX 4 headlining fight between Brian Stann and Hector Lombard falling off with a Stann injury, White can now headline the next FOX broadcast with Rua, who has not fought since a November loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 139 that was instantly regarded as an all-time classic.
"'Shogun's' on free TV (now), and he's coming off one of the greatest fights ever in mixed-martial-arts history," White told MMAjunkie.com.
But the whole situation still appears to have left White a little baffled at Rua and his team's stance on turning the proposed Teixeira fight down – especially with the threat of a possible pink slip.
"The reality is, 'Shogun' is a guy whom I respect," White said. "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.'"
Rua, of course, has not been cut and will fight Vera in August, perhaps leaving White and the UFC brass wondering about a fight that might have been. Teixeira, meanwhile, still does not have his next fight booked.
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