UFC 93 Preview: Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua vs. Mark Coleman

Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (16-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Mark Coleman (15-8, 6-3 UFC)

These fighters have met once before, in Pride 31. Coleman won that fight due to a freak arm injury. That was two years ago and there is no reason to look back at that fight as blueprint for their latest meeting.

Both fighters are entering UFC 93 with questions surrounding them due to a variety of issues.

In Shogun's first fight in the UFC, against Forrest Griffin, he looked small and weak compared to the fighter we saw in Pride. Instantly steroid speculation began due to the lack of testing in Japan. After the fight it came out that Rua had a torn ACL which prevented him from training and this news was used to dispel the steroid rumors.

This will be Rua's firt fight since repairing the injured knee, a process that took over a year. Still the 'roids' question lingers, and with the UFC being in charge of testing fighters in Europe the most paranoid fans are whispering foul play. 

Mark Coleman is also coming off an injury, though not as serious as a torn ACL. Coleman was slated to fight Borck Lesnar but pulled out due to injury. Now Lesnar is the heavyweight champion and Coleman is fighting a familiar foe.

Back in the 90's Coleman led the charge of wrestlers entering MA. Just to give you an idea of how old Coleman is, most of his victories in the UFC came when the promotion was still in tournament format. After a stint in Pride where he lost to every legendary heavyweight (he did beat Don Frye!), Coleman retired. But with the booming popularity of the UFC in his home country Coleman decided to suit up once again. 

Coleman is still the breed of MMA fighter that depends solely on doing one thing really well. While he has learned other skills and developed he doesn't show the ability to integrate the diverse skill sets like Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, George St. Pierre and other top fighters do. With Shogun's youth and superior skill he is easily the favorite. 

While there are still question surrounding Shogun he should win this fight and fulfill his revenge. WKR picks Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua to win by not having his arm broken in the first round.