Shogun will not perform at UFC Japan (Photo: Reproduction / Facebook Shogunrua)
Last Saturday (16), the news that Mauritius Shogun is out of UFC Japan, which will take place this Friday (22), took the fighter's fans by surprise. With a knee injury, the Brazilian was removed from the rematch against Ovince St Preux, giving way to the veteran Yushin Okami, who returns to Ultimate after four years.
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Through his social networks, Shogun issued an official statement justifying the reasons that made him leave the fight, without hiding his dejection at what happened. In addition to revealing an old knee injury, the Curitiba native apologized to St. Preux,
At 35, Mauritius Shogun He is going through his best phase in the UFC, with three consecutive victories. His most recent performance was last March, when he knocked out Gian Villante at UFC Fortaleza. Former UFC light heavyweight champion, he has nine triumphs and eight setbacks in the organization.
See Shogun's statement in full:
“Fighting has been my life for over 15 years. It's what I chose for myself and what I love to do. For me, it is very difficult to have to leave a fight, really, and accepting that this was the only viable alternative was not easy at all. Unfortunately, at the beginning of this camp, I injured my knee. I spent my entire camp doing everything I could to be able to fight on September 23rd (22nd in Brazil), and I trained all the time using medicine, knee protection, ice and physiotherapy. I went beyond the limit because returning to fight in Japan is something I dreamed of for a long time, because I didn't want to disappoint the fans, and because I was raised that way in martial arts by my master.
I've already come up to fight injured several times in my career, and there was no lack of effort and attempt. But unfortunately all the effort only ended up aggravating the injuries, and there came a time when my team and I had to accept that there were no more alternatives, and I had to leave the fight. It was not easy.
I want to apologize to my opponent, I was in the same situation even when we faced each other for the first time, and I know it's never easy, and especially to apologize to the public, especially to all those who were anxiously awaiting this fight. I'm going to take care of my recovery Now, heal my injuries and come back stronger. Challenges are placed in front of us every day, and what really matters is how we face them. Thank you for everyone’s affection.”
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