'Shogun' Rua also turned down offer to fight Jones

Indeed, Lyoto Machida was initially offered the title shot he earned by knocking out Ryan Bader at UFC on Fox 4 this past Aug. 4 in Los Angeles. But he turned it down for reasons that are still unclear.
Now we know Mauricio Rua did the same.

That's according to Lance Pugmire of the LA Times who was informed by Lorenzo Fertitta himself:
@lorenzofertitta tells me Shogun Rua also turned down shot at Jones to set up Belfort as Sept. 22 opponent. ... Fertitta says, "Thank god Belfort is from the same generation as LIDDELL, Hughes, etc. REAL fighter!"