Mauricio "Shogun" Rua says his knee is 100%, not worried about Jon Jones being favored at UFC 128

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

One of the major talking points about Saturday's main event between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Jon Jones is the 10 month layoff for the Champ following yet another knee surgery. The 29-year-old Rua has undergone several procedures throughout his career, and has had a history of poor performances upon his return from lengthy layoffs. However, the Champion insists it's not going to be an issue on Saturday night.

"My knee is 100 percent," Rua said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "I've done everything to fix it. I've been training hard for a long time.

"I was training already from October on, but I started training 100 percent around November when the doctor released me to train 100 percent. I never felt any pain or any problems with my knee after the surgery. I was respecting the doctor's orders and doing exactly as he told me."

Rua enters Saturday's fight the betting underdog despite being the Champion and the much more established and experienced fighter. But it's just another thing that's not phasing the Champion heading into the fight.

"I [don't] feel disrespected," Rua said. "He has been winning his fights soundly. I was really expecting the press and the oddsmakers would consider him the favorite. He earned that. I really have to cherish the support from my fans who believe in me."

"I don't want to think about my opponents. I'd rather think about myself and try to evolve ? see what I can improve. The time that you start to think about your opponents and focus on concern about them is the time you stop evolving as a fighter. I'd rather focus on myself and not think about it."

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Penick's Analysis: This is one of those intangible aspects of this fight that makes it really hard to predict who will win this fight. You can have strong feelings on this bout one way or another, but anyone claiming to know what's going to happen in this fight is insane. This is such a great fight, and both fighters can absolutely find a path to victory. If Shogun is 100% and the layoff doesn't affect him, he could still be the most dangerous fighter in the world at 205 lbs. Jon Jones could very well be the successor to that crown, and he could prove the hype is justified on Saturday, but don't count out the Champ.

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