Why Shogun Rua’s decision to keep fighting is a risky one
When a once-great fighter gets beaten up a few times in a row, inevitably the calls for his or her retirement begin to build.
As fans, we somehow bond with these people whom we don't really know. Their struggle becomes our struggle and when they no longer seem as invincible as they once had been, it's tough to watch the decline.
It happened most notably with legendary boxer Evander Holyfield, who for years wasn't producing at the same level he once had been but who steadfastly continued in a misguided pursuit of the undisputed heavyweight title.
Holyfield took a lot of trauma to the head in fights that had no chance to help him fulfill his dream of regaining the heavyweight title.
Similarly, former UFC light heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts icon Mauricio "Shogun" Rua finds himself fighting on despite pleas from many of his most fervent fans to retire.
Rua faces Ovince St. Preux on Saturday in the five-round main event of a UFC card in Uberlandia, Brazil, set to be broadcast in the United States on Fox Sports 1.
The last few years haven't been kind to Rua, who is coming off a loss to Dan Henderson and has lost three of his last four fights. Going back to 2011, when he lost his light heavyweight championship to Jon Jones, Rua is just 3-5.
But – there is always a but, isn't there? – in those eight fights, Rua has won Fight of the Night twice and had Knockout of the Night once. His 2011 bout with Dan Henderson was voted by most people as the Fight of the Year. His rematch with Henderson in March remains a candidate, at the very least, for the 2014 Fight of the Year.
That would indicate he's still performing well. If we extend things back to his last 10 bouts, yes, Rua is 4-6, but that includes three Fights of the Night, one Fight of the Year and two Knockouts of the Night.
Were we just talking about his decline?
Rua, though, could learn something from Irishman Conor McGregor, the over-the-top, trash-talking featherweight. Following his stoppage of Dustin Poirier at UFC 178 in September, McGregor was speaking at the post-fight news conference about his philosophy on the fight game.
"Get in, get rich and get out," McGregor said.
No more perfect words were ever spoken by a fighter.
There are plenty of risks that come with a career in the fight game. Those of us who love fighting understand the risk is there, but it's uncomfortable to think about, so we tend to put it out of our minds as much as possible.
It's why we complain when we think a referee stopped a fight too soon, ignoring the fact the referee is doing his best to save the fighter from a possible concussion, cerebral hematoma or worse.
But the fighters are adults and accept the risks knowingly. Most of the time, they're far safer than they would be were they playing in the NFL. A fighter who gets a concussion is suspended and can't fight again for weeks, if not months.
Until very recently, NFL players would get a concussion and not only play the next week, but would often return to action a few plays later. Research is showing now just how dangerous that can be, and it may be why so many NFL legends have had health problems after football.
Even when a fighter is cleared to train and then fight, he or she can't take a fight until a doctor gets one last look at them. They have to submit comprehensive medical forms after testing to prove they're healthy enough to compete.
And Rua has passed all the tests, so he is going to compete. He told ESPN.com that he will fight for up to five more years, even as critics howl for his retirement.
"I'm very happy to continue to fight, and I really don't pay attention or care about anyone's comments," Rua told ESPN. "As long as I'm happy and the UFC and fans want to see me fight, why would I stop? I don't feel like I have anything to prove in this fight. I don't feel obligated to win; only to do my best."
That's his right, given that he's passing his tests and proving he still has the skill to compete.
But every fighter can only take so many punches in a career before it will impact him for the rest of his life. No one knows exactly when that point comes, and it's different for everyone, but you can be assured that everyone who watched and cheered Muhammad Ali in his heyday now wishes that he hadn't taken those massive shots from George Foreman at "The Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974 or from Joe Frazier at "The Thrilla in Manila" in 1975.
Mostly, they wish he hadn't fought the great Larry Holmes in 1980, when Ali was old, slow and couldn't defend himself and was simply a human punching bag.
He might not be a prisoner of his own body, silenced by Parkinson's, if he hadn't kept fighting.
Rua has the right to fight, but the question has to be asked: How wise is it for him to continue on?
With each punch or kick he takes in training as well as in the cage, the risk will grow.
Hopefully, he'll manage the risk correctly and walk away with all of his money and, more importantly, with all of his faculties.
That will be a day to celebrate if it ever comes.
But if it doesn't, if he leaves with head trauma and irreversible effects from a long and storied career, you can’t say he wasn’t warned.
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