Shogun Re-Injures Knee / Out of UFC 85

Bad news for Shogun fans that were expecting to see the Pride middleweight sensation take on Chuck Liddell at UFC 85, as Mauricio Rua injures the same bad knee once again.

Due to ruptured ACL, Shogun Rua has been forced to pull out of his match that was scheduled for June 7 in London against "The Iceman" Chuck Liddell.

The injury is once again in the left knee, the same knee that he had surgery on last October after his loss to Forest Griffin at UFC 76. He will once again undergo surgery very soon and there is no word yet as of when he might return to the octagon. The knee injury is a huge setback to Rua who was training like never before and was highly motivated for this fight.

Liddell’s new opponent has yet to be named but according to the UFC, he will be announced shortly. Chuck is coming off of his huge win over "The Axe Murderer" and will be looking to string together some more wins. Chuck dominated the light heavyweight division for over three years until finally being stopped by Quinton Jackson at UFC 71 in May of 2007.

As for Rua, he claims that he will be back and better than ever as soon as possible. Rua’s spokesman Eduardo Alonso had this to say regarding Shogun.

“He thanks his fans for all the support,” said Alonso. “It means a lot to him.”