Maurício Rua
At "UFC 76", Griffin fought against PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Maurício Rua. At the time, Shogun was ranked the number one light heavyweight fighter in the world by several MMA publications. Griffin won by rear naked choke at 4:45 of round three. Griffin required surgery after the fight due to a shoulder injury that was sustained before the bout. Griffin's shoulder has been a recurring problem since.