[VIDEO] “Shogun” Denies Saying He’d Rather Be Cut Than Fight Glover Teixeira

STUDIO MMA, RIVERSIDE, CA – In recent interviews, the UFC president Dana White has said Mauricio “Shogun” Rua would rather be cut from the organization than fight fellow Brazilian, Glover Teixeira.  However, Shogun denies ever having that conversation, as he preps to meet Brandon Vera in the main event at UFC on FOX 4 in Los Angeles, California.

Instead the former light heavyweight champion turned down the bout due to the fact Teixeira has had only one octagon appearance and did not present an opportunity for Shogun to advance toward a title shot.  Shogun explains to Portal do Vale Tudo why he turned down the fight.

They offered Glover to us. I talked with my team, and we decided that Glover would not be interesting now. Glover is a top fighter. I know him. I respect him, but he just got into the UFC. He needs to get more fights. I had nothing to gain with that fight. We told the UFC that, for now, this fight is not interesting for me. After that, the UFC offered Brandon Vera, but they never threatened to cut me, nor I to leave the UFC. I’ve never picked my opponents. I’ve fought against the best, and I wanna keep doing it and to get my chance for the title. For sure, Glover is a top fighter, but today, if I beat him, I would gain nothing. So we decided to refuse this fight, but in the future, this fight can happen. I really didn’t understand, UFC didn’t say that I would be cut, nor I would leave them. To fight is my life, I love to do it. I would never leave UFC because of a fight. I think it was a misunderstanding. Maybe Dana White said I would leave that card and not UFC. It’s a kind of stuff that I don’t pay attention. I’m focus on my training and I don’t care about this.”

(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)