Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua (21-8, 5-6 UFC) returns to action in December when he heads down to Australia to meet fellow light heavyweight James Te Huna (16-6, 5-2 UFC) in a co-main event bout at UFC Fight Night 33. UFC officials confirmed the bout on Wednesday following an inital report from The Telegraph.
Rua will be looking to end a two-fight losing streak when he takes on Te Huna. Rua lost to current light heavyweight top contender Alexander Gustafsson at UFC On FOX 5 in December, and, most recently, was submitted in the first round by Chael Sonnen at UFC Fight Night 26 last month. Rua’s last win came over a year ago when he scored a knockout win over Brandon Vera. Since winning the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship from Lyoto Machida in May 2010, Rua is just 2-4 over his last six fights.
Te Huna looks to start a new win streak after having his four-fight win streak stopped in his last bout. He had racked up consecutive wins over Ricardo Romero, Aaron Rosa, Joey Beltran and Ryan Jimmo before being submitted by Glover Teixeira at UFC 160 in May. Te Huna’s two UFC losses have come to Teixeira and Gustafsson, who are currently ranked at number one and number two in the UFC’s official rankings for 205 pounds.
UFC Fight Night 33 takes place on Dec. 7 from Brisbane, Australia and will air on FOX Sports 1. Due to the time difference, the event airs on Dec. 6 in the United States. A heavyweight bout between Mark Hunt and Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva headlines the fight card.
