[Alexander]

This should be a hell of a fight. Glad to see they're giving Shogun a good opponent. Shogun is the obvious favorite, but Machida is so slick. Who do you guys take?

source: UFCjunkie.com

[Rogue Drone]

Mauricio, almost as vicious as Wandy, better on the ground and a more fluid striker.

[AuggieC]

Machida

[UNCfan1]

Originally Posted by Alexander

This should be a hell of a fight. Glad to see they're giving Shogun a good opponent. Shogun is the obvious favorite, but Machida is so slick. Who do you guys take?

source: UFCjunkie.com

WOW! Awesome! I thought Shogun was injuried or was having some kind of problem and the fight was off. This is great to hear. Nothing like a top notch fighter for ur debut victory.

[Beowulf]

I think the only mistake is that casual MMA fans still don't know Machida. It would be better to match Shogun with someone like Forrest or Tito, b/c fans have a sense of their capabilities. If Shogun destroys Machida, casual fans will have no idea how great of an accomplishment that is.

[jas123]

Great fight. I'm still not sure how good Machida is, and I think Beo is right. Maybe this is a sneaky attempt to get Machida to lose so they don't have a not-so-marketable contender.

[UNCfan1]

Originally Posted by jas123

Great fight. I'm still not sure how good Machida is, and I think Beo is right. Maybe this is a sneaky attempt to get Machida to lose so they don't have a not-so-marketable contender.

As Goldie would say: Good point. lol

[Reaper329]

Excellent. I will be pulling for Machida as I do think Shogun can be great, but the hpye is a bit much for me

[jas123]

It will be interesting to see if Machida use his methodical, frustrate-the-hell-out-of-you style on Shogun. Most likely Shogun will realize his lack of KO power and swarm him or take him down and work that ever improving ground game.

[UNCfan1]

I guess this fight is off and he is now fighting Forrest Griffen? MMA weekly has it TBA now when it had him against Machido. UFCjunkie still has it as against Machido. Sherdoggers are talking about Shogun fighting Griffen.

Confused

[Reaper329]

I am hearing griffin as well.

[jas123]

Yeah, that's what I'm seeing too. Jardine will fight Chuck at that event too. Sherdogger's were call it UFC 76 "sacrificial lambs".

[UNCfan1]

I don't care who Shogun fights he will win. U would of course for him to fight top notch guys all the time. But what pisses me off is people saying he is ducking the fight. Same with Wandy ducking. Chute Boxe don't duck fights!!!!

[Rufio]

Yeah, it's been confirmed as Griffin. Which is really better, since Machida hasn't gotten the spotlight he rightfully deserves yet.

[Tattooed76]

Here is info that I found talking about Griffin taking Machida's place. This is from a website but I don't believe I am allowed to post the link due to forum rules.

Two separate reports from Tatame.com and TaggRadio.com today indicate that Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will make his Octagon debut against Forrest Griffin — not Ryoto Machida — at UFC 76 on September 22.

This latest news contradicts recent statements from UFC President Dana White on ESPN and right here that Shogun and Machida were booked to face one another at the Anaheim, Calif., show.

Here’s the snip from Tatame:

“Master Rudimar Fedrigo confirmed us that Mauricio Shogun will face Forrest Griffin at UFC 76, that is schedule for September 22 ….”

Fedrigo is the founder of the famed Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil, of which Shogun is one of its most talented products.

Here’s a snip attributed to Fedrigo:

“We went specially to Las Vegas to sign the contract for four fights and to record the videos for before the fight.”

This is a rather bizarre development, considering major mainstream media outlets were even reporting the Shogun-Machida showdown.

Either this is somehow one big misunderstanding or the Machida deal fell through. Or, Machida has been injured training for the bout.

Sorry to dangle a big question mark over yet another UFC 76 fight, but it seems as if something might be going on behind the scenes.

Stay tuned … this could turn out to be just another false alarm.

Note: If this is the case, and Shogun is not fighting Machida as planned, it will beg the question: Why not Chuck Liddell vs. Shogun Rua? Now that’s a fight.

[jas123]

Griffin is a really a safe intro fight for Shogun. He can't sub Shogun and lacks KO power so he could only decision him at best. I suppose the same could be said of Machida from what we've seen, though. Nog nearly getting KOed probably helped convince Dana to build Shogun better.

[stxnas]

I got this off of another forum, but the initial poster didn't supply the link. Looks like it's official.

- SHOGUN TO DEBUT AGAINST GRIFFIN AT UFC 76

Today the UFC officially announced the match-up that will feature the debut of MMAWeekly’s current #1 light heavyweight fighter, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as he takes on former Ultimate Fighter winner, Forrest Griffin in September at UFC 76.

Originally, UFC President Dana White had announced that Shogun would debut against fellow Brazilian heavy hitter, Lyoto Machida, but this is the official news that Shogun will now take on Griffin instead.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has been on a collision course with the UFC’s 205lb division for some time now and after months of speculation as to who the former Pride Grand Prix winner would take on, that task belongs to Forrest Griffin.

Shogun was named MMAWeekly’s Fighter of the Year in 2005 and after suffering an injury in a fight with Mark Coleman that gave him only his 2nd loss of his career, he has returned and reeled off an impressive series of victories over fighters such as Kazuhiro Nakamura, Alistair Overeem and Kevin Randleman.

Shogun enters the division with as much hype as any fighter has had coming into the UFC since Mirko CroCop debuted some months ago and he will be on a fast track with likely only 1 or 2 fights before he would challenge someone for the UFC light heavyweight title.

Shogun also currently holds a TKO victory over champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson that happened during his run to the Grand Prix title in 2005.

Forrest Griffin will be coming into this fight after a dominant performance over Hector Ramirez at the UFC in Ireland recently. Griffin has been one of the most popular fighters in the UFC since the Ultimate Fighter show and this fight with Shogun could boost him to instant championship status if he’s able to pull off a victory.

UFC 76 will take place September 22nd from Anaheim, California and will also feature the main event fight between former light heavyweight champion, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and Keith Jardine.