White interested in retirement or 185 if Shogun loses

UFC president Dana White appeared recently on FOX Sports Live and said that if Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua loses to James Te Huna Saturday night, he would probably have a talk with him about retirement, and might also consider a drop to 185 appropriate. Shogun is coming off a decision loss to Alexander Gustafsson and a submission loss to Chael Sonnen. He has not had a win streak since 2009, when he knocked out Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell in compelling fashion.

White was asked right off the bat if the heavyweight main event Mark Hunt vs. Bigfoot winner Friday gets a title shot.

“I don’t know,” said White. “We’ll see how that goes. But I think that Mark Hunt is one of the greatest stories in sports right now… I know this, it is going to be a war.”

Host Chael Sonnen then asked about the co main.

“If he suffers defeat this week, will you talk to him about retirement?” asked Sonnen.

This is a huge fight for both of these guys, said White. Obviously for ‘Shogun’ Rua to be in this position right now fighting a guy like Te Huna, this is the fight of Te Huna’s life. Te Huna wins this fight, it catapults him into the Top 10, everybody knows his name, and everybody’s going to want to see what’s next for him.

And yes, if ‘Shogun’ loses this fight, I probably would have that conversation with him.

Sonnen then jumped in and asked what if White had thought about Shogun dropping to middleweight.

I have not, but it’s not a bad idea, said White. If he lost this fight, I’d be interested in giving him a run at 185.