'Shogun' Rua snags controversial split decision win from Anderson

The UFC 198 card arguably saw its first instance of the infamous Brazilian home cooking when Mauricio "Shogun" Rua topped Corey Anderson by split decision.

Rua had his moments to be sure, but Corey Anderson's wrestling appeared to give him the edge in a hard-fought contest. His takedown dominance was only enough to sway one judge, with the other two giving 29-28 scores to Rua.

For the majority of round one, Anderson smartly used his range to keep his more experienced foe at a distance. He left himself open to stinging leg kicks from Rua, but managed to connect with solid jabs of his own.

Things went awry for the 26-year-old when he was caught by a left hook behind the ear in the final minute. Another left landed in the same spot, and suddenly the former light heavyweight champion was on top of Anderson looking to finish. The buzzer sounded to allow Anderson to return to his corner:

Anderson went to his wrestling in the second. A takedown didn't result in much offense, but it helped Anderson to recover from any ill effects he may have been suffering from Rua's previous assault.

A steady diet of takedowns followed for the rest of the fight, which would have given Anderson the clear advantage were it not for an overhand right from Rua that put Anderson on his butt late in the second. The scoring was likely muddied by whether that blow was scored as a legitimate knockdown or a slip.

With his second straight win, Rua finds himself on a positive streak for the first time since 2009. The victory had special meaning for Rua, having been born and raised in Curitiba, Brazil, the site of UFC 198.

The tough loss sends Anderson back to the drawing board after a three-fight winning streak put him on the cusp of the top-10.