‘Shogun’ Rua shows severe elbow injury suffered in Paul Craig fight at UFC 255

If it looked like things had gone downhill quickly in Mauricio Rua after the first round of his rematch with Paul Craig, there could be a good reason.

Rua was forced to hit the strikes on Saturday in UFC 255’s opening game opener in Las Vegas, resulting in a TKO second round loss to Craig. It was Shogun’s first loss in his last four outings, which includes a draw with Craig at UFC Sao Paulo in November of last year.

On Sunday, Shogun shared a photo of an elbow injury he allegedly suffered in the first round as well as a post in which he explained the circumstances while giving credit to Craig for the victory.

“Unfortunately, things didn’t go the way I would have liked last night and that’s part of our sport,” Rua wrote. “I had an elbow injury the first time I was shot, but that’s no excuse because it’s part of the fight and it takes no credit from my opponent.

The photo of Shogun’s injury included in the Instagram post appears to show massive swelling in his right elbow. A larger version of the photo can be seen below, courtesy of Shogun manager Eduardo Alonso.

Eduardo Alonso

Rua, who turns 39 on Wednesday, did not say whether he expected the injury to cost him a lot of time, only mentioning that he was planning to rest and consider the next step in his career.

“Now I’m going to rest with my family and think about my career,” Rua wrote. “I know my mission in this sport goes far beyond the octagon as well.”

See Shogun’s full unedited statement below:

Unfortunately, things didn’t go the way I would have liked last night, and that is part of our sport. I suffered an elbow injury the first time I was shot but that is no excuse as it is part of the fights and it takes no credit from my opponent.

An athletic career is not only made of glory and thanks to God, I have already been blessed many times with the reward of victory, thanks to a lot of sacrifice and effort, that only those who live our daily routine really know what we are going through.

I want to thank all the incredible support from you, as always. I have been fortunate enough to be able to do this for 18 years already, and here in 2020 you are the great motivation that I carry with me, and it keeps me going so far. Now I am going to rest with my family and think about my career. I know my mission in this sport goes far beyond the octagon as well. Thanks a lot guys.