Mauricio “Shogun” Rua lays out retirement plans

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s July knockout loss to Anthony Smith did more than derail his impressive, three-fight winning streak. It also caused many fans to call for the former UFC light heavyweight champion’s retirement.

Apparently, Shogun has heard these calls, and retirement is something he’s starting to think about himself.

Speaking to MMA Fighting this week, the former champion explained that he’d like to fulfill the final three obligations on his current UFC contract. Once that’s done, he’ll sit down with his team and family, and decide whether he should continue fighting or hang up the gloves.

“I plan on ending this contract with the UFC, I have three more fights, and when it’s over, I’ll take a break and talk to my family and my team and see what I’ll do,” Shogun said. “I want to fight as soon as possible. I was talking to Eduardo (Alonso) yesterday about that. I have a goal. I want to fight again this year, maybe December, and then we’ll see what happens.”

“I want to end this contract and then I think I’ll probably stop,” he added. “I don’t know. I’ll analyze it with my family and my team, everybody.”

From the sounds of it, however, Shogun’s family is already keen to see him retire — especially after his loss to Smith.

“Yes. [They encourage me to retire] all the time,” Rua said, laughing. “They ask for that, but they understand me. Fighting is my work, my career and my passion, so there’s a lot involved. I will stop when I see it really is the right time to stop.”

While some people are counting Shogun out, he believes he can still reach the light heavyweight title again. Even if the chances look slim right now.

“I don’t think never again, but not for now,” Rua said. “A loss always puts you further from the belt, I really took a step back now and I know I won’t have this chance, I don’t deserve it. My focus is not the belt anymore, so I know I don’t deserve this chance. There are other people ahead of me that deserve this chance.”