Rua out for Revenge - UFC 93

Fight-night: 1/17/2009

Before the main event of UFC 93 between Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson takes place, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Mark Coleman take to the ring to settle a bitter rivalry.

The first time the two men met, in 2006, Rua suffered a broken arm on a harmless looking takedown. It was difficult for sports betting fans to watch because Rua is one of the top rated fighters in his division. After Rashad Evans, Quinton Jackson and Thiago Silva, is Mauricio Rua. He might not even be in the top four since Anderson Silva is a pretty good fighter as well, but he’s definitely in the top five or six.

Rua should have enough to beat the 44 year old Mark Coleman, correct? Maybe.

Let’s take a look at each fighter’s strengths and weaknesses and then analyze the fight from an online betting point-of-view.

Mauricio Rua, online betting odds –400, vs. Mark Coleman, online betting odds +250

Mark Coleman

Strengths: Coleman has incredible experience with 23 MMA fights under his belt. Out of those 23 fights, Coleman has won 15 including stopping Rua in 2006 due to the broken arm. But I’m not ready to say that Rua would have won the fight if he hadn’t suffered the injury. Coleman not only has the experience but he’s one of the most talented wrestlers that the UFC has ever seen. Coleman won the 1988 NCAA wrestling championship for Ohio State as well as finishing seventh in Barcelona as a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team. Oh, he’s also a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and he’s a UFC Hall-of-Famer. Coleman is a very good ground and pound fighter that can get an opposing fighter to the ground with numerous tactics.

Weaknesses: He’s 44 years old. To make things worse, he’s been inactive for 2 years. He also lost his last 3 fights in UFC in 1999 to close out his UFC career. Is Coleman washed up? That’s the question that UFC betting fans should be asking themselves.

Mauricio Rua

Strengths: Any boxing fans who laughs at MMA and UFC as not being a real sport need only watch Mauricio Rua. Rua is as skilled a fighter as I have ever seen in the Octagon. He’s aggressive, has terrific Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu skills, and is phenomenally strong. He’s also pretty damn fast. His 16 and 3 record says as much and even though he lost to Forrest Griffin in 2007 it was a tough fight from beginning to end. Rua is a strong, capable fighter that is deserving of all of the attention he’s been getting recently. Fight online wagering fans have to appreciate how a man like Rua has come back from two knee injuries and the dislocated shoulder he suffered in the first Coleman fight. That shows guts and having guts in UFC is more important than probably any other skill a fighter can bring into the Octagon.

Weaknesses: Did I mention the injuries? Here’s the thing - - the knee injuries that Rua suffered won’t ever go away completely. He may say they have and his doctors will say that they have, but injuries like that will last forever. Rua’s body is soft. It’s really bad because Rua is so aggressive in the ring. His body has trouble keeping up with his aggressiveness. Will it do so on January 17th?