Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua expects UFC champion Lyoto Machida to be a completely different fighter when they next meet in the Octagon. The Brazilian light-heavyweight will be challenging his countryman for the second time at UFC 113 (May 8th) following the controversial decision in their UFC 104 meeting.

In an interview with the print edition of Fighters Only this month, Rua is asked what he expects in this second fight. “Another battle and another Lyoto. Everything is new, the focus, the strategy – here we go. It's my big dream. I'll concentrate and go and fight with even more desire. I´ll be even hungrier this time – to conquer a UFC belt has always been my dream,” he says.

“Lyoto is different to other athletes… We recruited some karatekas from Curitiba, who helped me a lot. I have [Andre] Dida, Marcelinho and Tuba to help me with the tactical stuff. Marcelinho watched Lyoto's fights like 15 times, we joked that he became Lyoto.”

Machida retained his belt by unanimous decision at UFC 104 but that result was not appreciated by many fans and there were a significant number of people who believed that Rua should have taken the belt. UFC president Dana White scheduled the rematch immediately after the fight was over.

Rua’s take on that decision is part of the feature-length article which forms the centerpiece of the latest issue of Fighters Only, which also features Shogun on the cover. Check your local magazine stockist for availability and release date or click here for subscription info