Coach believes that Shogun (photo) is close to the belt. Photo: Reproduction / Facebook @ufc
For many it was difficult to imagine that Mauricio Shogun could return to challenge for the UFC light heavyweight belt. With just three fights since 2015, the Curitiba native seemed to no longer have any major career ambitions. But the fight against the Swiss Volkan oezdemir, at UFC Chile, on May 19th, could bring the fighter very close to the title fight. At least that's what Rafael Cordeiro, leader of the Kings MMA team and Shogun's main coach, expects.
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“It's a fight that puts Shogun in front of the goal. Volkan is a respected guy, a guy who recently challenged for the belt, so we see this fight with good eyes, we can see what the UFC is seeing, which is Shogun winning this fight and getting close to a dispute with a belt”, said Cordeiro, on the website Portal do Vale-Tudo.
Shogun built a career with 35 fights and titles in Pride and UFC, but despite his long career he is still considered new to MMA. At 36 years old, the Brazilian is three younger than Daniel Cormier (39), current champion of the light heavyweight division. For this reason, Cordeiro believes that his pupil can still provide a lot of work in the category.
“He has already improved his knee, he is already thin, weighing 98 kg, which is a good weight because he will only need to lose five kilos to fight. With all due respect to Volkan, Shogun is willing to show his best. He’s still young, he’s a battle tank and he’s not afraid of anyone,” he added.
Shogun is enjoying the best phase of his UFC career since winning the organization's title in 2010. The Brazilian, who has a record of 25 wins and 10 losses as a professional, has won the last three fights he has competed against: Rogério Minotouro, Corey anderson e Gian Villante.
In turn, Oezdemir has a record of 15 wins and just two losses as a professional. The Swiss fought for the light heavyweight belt in his last fight, at UFC 220, in January this year. On that occasion, he ended up being knocked out by the champion Daniel Cormier in the second round. Before that, Volkan had scored a series of five victories.
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