Mauricio Milani Rua, born November 25, 1981, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Nicknamed Shogun, Rua is the winner of the PRIDE Fighting Championship's 2005 Middleweight (205 lb) Grand Prix and holds notable wins over Lyoto Machida, Chuck Liddell, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Alistair Overeem (on two occasions), Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. He received a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Nino Schembri. He is currently ranked as the #2 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.com. He became famous for his wild, aggressive style, and use of stomps and soccer kicks to downed opponents while fighting in Pride FC.
Early life[]
Mauricio was born in Curitiba, Brazil. His family also lives in Curitiba. His father is a successful businessman that runs his own business. His mother was a track athlete and is currently a marathon runner. The Rua brothers occasionally run 10km runs with their mother as well.[1] Shogun has an older brother Murilo (born 1980) and a younger brother Marco "Shaolin" Rua.[1] Both are mixed martial artists training at Chute Boxe, though Marco does not compete on a professional level.
Shogun himself has stated that he began training in Muay Thai at the age of 15, and began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at 17.[2] (In contrast, Pride announcer Mauro Ranallo once claimed that Shogun began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) at the age of six and Muay Thai at seven, and achieved a 10–0 Muay Thai record.[3]) He was very successful in BJJ championships at the Blue and Purple belt level. Rua followed his older brother's footsteps after Murilo started training at the Chute Boxe Academy. In addition to Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he also currently trains in wrestling and western boxing.[4][5]
Mixed martial arts career[]
Rua started his professional career at vale tudo events in Brazil, achieving three stoppages due to strikes, including a win over future Chute Boxe teammate Evangelista Santos. In a fast-paced bout, Santos matched Rua on the feet until Rua took Santos to the ground and forced a stoppage due to strikes from mount. Shogun then entered the International Fighting Championship's (IFC) "Global Domination" tournament. Rua won his first bout against Eric Wanderlei due to punches, but in the second bout suffered the first loss of his career in a controversy situation to Renato Sobral due to guillotine choke in the third round. Sobral was fighting for nearly two minutes adjusting the guillotine, but Rua was resisting and didn´t taped out, and the referee stopped the fight. Rua´s team (Chute Box) protested but Sobral was announced the winner.
Pride Fighting Championship[]
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua attacks Hiromitsu Kanehara with a flying stomp. Shogun exhibited noted ability with his kicks and stomps against grounded opponents throughout his career in Pride.
Following his defeat in the IFC tournament, Shogun made his way to Japan to enter the Pride Fighting Championship. He made his Pride debut at the inaugural Pride Bushido 1, a side promotion for lighter weight fighters. In his three Bushido appearances, Rua defeated Akira Shoji, Akihiro Gono, and Yasuhito Namekawa all by strikes in the first round. With his success, Rua graduated to his debut in a main Pride event at Pride 29, where he faced former professional wrestler Hiromitsu Kanehara. Rua defeated Kanehara by stomp early in the first round.
Rua's success and similar background led to comparisons with his Chute Boxe teammate and Pride Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva. However, when he entered the PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix tournament as a heavy underdog. For the first round of the tounament at Pride Total Elimination 2005, he faced Quinton Jackson, whom he had challenged after Jackson won a controversial split decision over his brother, Murilo at PRIDE 29. Jackson had been the runner-up in the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix, but Mauricio dominated the favored fighter from beginning to end, breaking Jackson's ribs with knee strikes and ending the fight in dramatic fashion with soccer kicks to the face in the first round. Jackson later stated that Shogun was the best fighter he had ever fought.[6] In the second round at Pride Critical Countdown 2005, Rua faced Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, a member of Chute Boxe's rival academy Brazilian Top Team. Rua defeated Nogueira by unanimous decision. On August 28, 2005, Rua participated in Pride Final Conflict 2005, in which the last two rounds of the tournament were held on the same night. Rua defeated Alistair Overeem by TKO in the first round, while Ricardo Arona defeated Rua's teammate Wanderlei Silva by decision. Rua and Arona faced each other in the final bout of the tournament. At 2:54 in the first round, Rua knocked Arona out with punches to win the bout and become the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix winner. It wrapped up a year in which he won Fighter of the Year honors from Sherdog.com
In the very next fight after his Grand Prix win, Shogun suffered the second loss of his career. At Pride 31, He faced heavyweight wrestler and Pride Grand Prix 2000 winner Mark Coleman. As Coleman executed a takedown, Rua landed awkwardly and dislocated his elbow, forcing a stoppage due to injury. Rua bounced back with a string of victories. At Pride Final Conflict Absolute he defeated French kickboxer Cyrille Diabate by TKO due to stomps. At Pride 32 he submitted former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin Randleman with a kneebar at 2:35 of the first round. In his final Pride appearance at Pride 33, he fought a rematch with Alistair Overeem and knocked the Dutchman out at 3:37 of the first round.
By the end of his run at Pride, Rua was ranked as the top light heavyweight in the world by Nokaut,[7] Sherdog,[8] and MMAWeekly.com.[9]
Ultimate Fighting Championship[]
After the UFC bought out Pride, Shogun signed on with the UFC and made his highly anticipated debut in the organization at UFC 76. The fight was Rua's first fight under the Unified Rules of MMA, which allow elbows but prohibit kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent. Facing The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner Forrest Griffin, Rua was widely regarded as the top light heavyweight fighter in the world and considered a heavy favorite to win.[10] However, Rua had difficulty with the larger Griffin and became exhausted in the second round of the fight. After losing both of the previous rounds, Rua ultimately succumbed to a rear naked choke in the final seconds of the third round. Some blame his poor cardiovascular fitness on the fact that Rua suffered a knee injury during training for the fight. He re-injured the knee during the fight and had elective surgery afterwards.[11]
Rua left Chute Boxe in January 2008 and opened his own camp, Universidade da luta, with his brother Murilo in his hometown, Curitiba, Brazil.[12]
Rua's surgery forced him to drop out of UFC 85. Instead, he was granted a rematch with Mark Coleman at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland. Shogun defeated Coleman by TKO with 24 seconds left in the third round. The fight earned co-Fight of the Night honors and a $40,000 bonus. In spite of the award, Rua drew criticism for his lackluster performance against Coleman, who was 44 years old and had not competed in over two years.[13][14] Rua's next fight took place at UFC 97 in Montreal, Canada against former longtime UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell. Shogun came into the fight in better shape than his last two outings, and knocked out Liddell in the first round with a devastating left hook followed by hammer fists. With this victory, Rua returned to the top-ten rankings for the light heavyweight division, and put him next in line for a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Fighting For The UFC Light Heavyweight Title[]
At UFC 104 Shogun lost a controversial unanimous decision to UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. All three judges scored the bout 48-47 in favor of Machida, however controversy arose with Machida's victory: in particular, a great deal of criticism focused on the capability of the judges in scoring fights. UFC President Dana White admitted that he believed Shogun had outscored Machida in the 1st, 4th, and 5th round, thus winning the fight.
When asked at the post-fight interviews, many professional fighters also felt that Rua was the winner of the fight, including Quinton Jackson[15], Rickson Gracie, Royce Gracie, Randy Couture, Thiago Silva[16], Jon Jones[17],Wanderlei Silva[18][19], Vitor Belfort[19],Antonio Silva[19], and Rashad Evans. A Fightmetric analysis of the fight indicated that Rua had been more aggressive and had landed more blows to the head and legs than Machida[20] According to CompuStrike, "Shogun" landed almost twice as many strikes as Machida did[21]. A rematch is scheduled to take place at UFC 113 on May 8, 2010, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Personal life[]
Before he was a fighter, "Shogun" worked as a model in Brazil, doing books, pictures, and even fashion shows for brands. Rua stated that he liked the experience, but he stopped because "(he)'s a fighter."[22]
Due to his close relationship with Wanderlei Silva and with Murilo Rua being his brother, "Shogun" has stated that those are the only two people that he would never fight.[23]
On September 12, 2007, Rua married physiotherapist Renata Ribeiro.[24] The couple had their first child, a daughter named Maria Eduarda, on January 15, 2010.[25]
Championships and awards[]
Pride FC
- 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Winner
Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night Honors
- Knockout of the Night Honors
MMA record[]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 28 | 19 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 16 | 1 |
| By submission | 1 | 2 |
| By decision | 2 | 1 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 19-4 |  Lyoto Machida
|
KO (Punches) | UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 | May 8, 2010 | 1 | 3:35 |  Montreal, Quebec, Canada
|
Won UFC Light Heavyweight Championship; Won Knockout of the Night |
| Loss | 18–4 | Lyoto Machida
|
Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun | October 24, 2009 | 5 | 5:00 |  Los Angeles, California
|
For UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 18–3 | Chuck Liddell
|
TKO (Punches) | UFC 97: Redemption | April 18, 2009 | 1 | 4:28 | Montreal, Canada
|
Won Knockout of the Night |
| Win | 17–3 | Mark Coleman
|
TKO (Punches) | UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson | January 17, 2009 | 3 | 4:36 |  Dublin, Ireland
|
Won Fight of the Night. |
| Loss | 16–3 | Forrest Griffin
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC 76: Knockout | September 22, 2007 | 3 | 4:45 | Anaheim, United States
|
UFC Debut. |
| Win | 16–2 |  Alistair Overeem
|
KO (Punches) | PRIDE 33: Second Coming | February 24, 2007 | 1 | 3:37 | Las Vegas, United States
|
|
| Win | 15–2 |  Kazuhiro Nakamura
|
Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE Shockwave 2006 | December 31, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan
|
|
| Win | 14–2 | Kevin Randleman
|
Submission (Kneebar) | PRIDE 32: The Real Deal | October 21, 2006 | 1 | 2:35 | Las Vegas, United States
|
|
| Win | 13–2 |  Cyrille Diabate
|
TKO (Stomps) | PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute | September 10, 2006 | 1 | 5:29 | Saitama, Japan
|
|
| Loss | 12–2 | Mark Coleman
|
TKO (Broken Arm) | PRIDE 31: Unbreakable | February 26, 2006 | 1 | 0:49 | Saitama, Japan
|
|
| Win | 12–1 | Ricardo Arona
|
KO (Punches) | PRIDE Final Conflict 2005 | August 28, 2005 | 1 | 2:54 | Saitama, Japan
|
Won Pride 2005 Middleweight GP Final |
| Win | 11–1 | Alistair Overeem
|
TKO (Punches) | PRIDE Final Conflict 2005 | August 28, 2005 | 1 | 6:42 | Saitama, Japan
|
Pride 2005 Middleweight GP Semifinal |
| Win | 10–1 | Antônio Rogério Nogueira
|
Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 | June 26, 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan
|
Pride 2005 Middleweight GP Quarterfinal |
| Win | 9–1 | Quinton Jackson
|
TKO (Soccer Kicks) | PRIDE Total Elimination 2005 | April 23, 2005 | 1 | 4:47 | Osaka, Japan
|
Pride 2005 Middleweight GP Opening Round |
| Win | 8–1 | Hiromitsu Kanehara
|
TKO (Stomp) | PRIDE 29: Fists of Fire | February 20, 2005 | 1 | 1:40 | Saitama, Japan
|
|
| Win | 7–1 | Yasuhito Namekawa
|
TKO (Strikes and Soccer Kicks) | PRIDE Bushido 5 | October 14, 2004 | 1 | 6:02 | Osaka, Japan
|
|
| Win | 6–1 | Akihiro Gono
|
TKO (Soccer Kicks) | PRIDE Bushido 2 | February 15, 2004 | 1 | 9:04 | Yokohama, Japan
|
|
| Win | 5–1 | Akira Shoji
|
TKO (Punches and Stomp) | PRIDE Bushido 1 | October 5, 2003 | 1 | 3:47 | Saitama, Japan
|
|
| Loss | 4–1 | Renato Sobral
|
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | IFC – Global Domination | September 6, 2003 | 3 | 3:07 | Denver, United States
|
IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal |
| Win | 4–0 | Erik Wanderley
|
TKO (Punches) | IFC – Global Domination | September 6, 2003 | 2 | 2:54 | Denver, United States
|
IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal |
| Win | 3–0 | Evangelista Santos
|
TKO (Punches) | Meca World Vale Tudo 9 | August 1, 2003 | 1 | 2:31 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|
| Win | 2–0 | Ângelo Antônio
|
TKO (Soccer Kicks) | Meca World Vale Tudo 8 | May 16, 2003 | 1 | 0:55 | Curitiba, Brazil
|
|
| Win | 1–0 | Rafael Capoeira
|
KO (Head Kick) | Meca World Vale Tudo 7 | November 8, 2002 | 1 | 4:00 | Curitiba, Brazil
|
Championships and accomplishments[]
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[]
| Status | Date | Championship | Weight | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Template:? | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu South American Championship[2] | 80 kg | Brazil
|
| 5th | Template:? | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Mundial Championship (blue belt level)[2] | 80 kg | Brazil
|
Muay Thai[]
| Status | Date | Championship | Weight | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 2003 | STORM Muay Thai[26] | Middleweight | Brazil
|
Mixed Martial Arts[]
| Status | Date | Championship | Weight | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 2005 | PRIDE Grand Prix Tournament | Middleweight | Saitama, Japan
|
Honorary titles and apellations[]
- Sherdog 2005 Fighter of the year[27]
- Full Contact Fighter #1 Light Heavyweight Fighter in the World[28]
- MMA Weekly 2007 #1 Light Heavyweight Fighter in the World[29]
See also[]
- List of male mixed martial artists
- List of PRIDE champions
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 NINJA AND SHOGUN INTERVIEW. PrideFC (December 1, 2005). Retrieved on August 13, 2007.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 {{cite web url=http://www.pridefc.com/pride2005/index.php?mainpage=news&news_id=474 title=MAURICIO RUA INTERVIEW date=December 27, 2005 accessdate=August 13, 2007 publisher=PrideFC}}
- ↑ Commentator Mauro Ranallo, at 0:15 of round 1 of Mauricio Rua vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara, PRIDE 29. "Shogun started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of six, Muay Thai at seven. Was 10 and 0 in Muay Thai."
- ↑ Mauricio Shogun e Murilo Ninja butt. Portal do VT (August 13, 2007). Retrieved on August 13, 2007. “I have been training a lot of Muay Thai, a lot of Jiu Jitsu, a lot of Wrestling”
- ↑ Ninja e Shogun at Chute Boxe. Dailymotion (August 13, 2007). Retrieved on August 13, 2007.
- ↑ Mixed martial arts notebook Well-traveled UFC president has big plans for the sport. OregonLive.com (June 22, 2007). Retrieved on August 13, 2007. “Add UFC news: White recently signed Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, who [sic] current UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson called the best fighter he'd ever faced. Rua (16-2) will make his UFC debut Sept. 22”
- ↑ Nokaut's TOP 10 Fighter Rankings. Nokaut (August 18, 2007).
- ↑ Sherdog's Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings. MMAWeekly (August 13, 2007). Retrieved on August 13, 2007.
- ↑ LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION Top 10 Ranking. MMAWeekly (August 8, 2007). Archived from the original on March 6, 2006. Retrieved on August 13, 2007.
- ↑ Shogun to Face Griffin, Not Machida. Nokaut.com (July 19, 2007). Retrieved on July 19, 2007.
- ↑ Shogun goes under the knife. mmafrenzy (September 26, 2007). Retrieved on September 26, 2007.
- ↑ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Looking Forward To New Camp. MMAFightLine (January 28, 2008). Retrieved on February 6, 2008.
- ↑ Rua rewarded despite atrocious performance.
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Rampage-Backs-Shogun-Blames-UFC-20575
- ↑ http://www.sherdog.com/videos/recent/Silva-Expect-a-Show-at-UFC-108-2132
- ↑ http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/2/12-Questions-for-Jon-Jones-21220
- ↑ http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Wanderlei-Silva-on-Bisping-Nerves-Mending-Ties-with-Anderson-21812
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/Brazilian-Pros-Discuss-Machida-Shogun-20597
- ↑ http://www.fightmetric.com/fights/Machida-Shogun.html
- ↑ http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/1/The-Weekly-Wrap-Oct-24-Oct-30-20635
- ↑ http://www.ufc.com/MauricioRua
- ↑ SHOGUN: THE BRAZILIAN MMA PRESS IS MANIPULATED BY JOINHA (2010/01/09). Retrieved on 2010/01/09.
- ↑ The Chute Boxe athlete had married in the last September first with the physiotherapist Renata Ribeiro in Maringá , Paraná state,
- ↑ _Shogun becomes father of baby girl. Tatame.com (2010-01-15). Retrieved on 2010-01-16.
- ↑ Figher->Premiações:. Mauricio Shogun Official Website (August 13, 2007). Retrieved on August 13, 2007.
- ↑ Sherdog.com Names "Shogun" & Gomi 2005 Fighters of the Year. Sherdog.com (January 1, 2006). Retrieved on August 13, 2007.
- ↑ FULL CONTACT FIGHTER WORLD RANKINGS. FCFighter (August 13, 2007). Retrieved on August 13, 2007.
- ↑ MMAWEEKLY WORLD MMA RANKINGS UPDATED. MMAWeekly (June 6, 2007). Archived from the original on May 28, 2007. Retrieved on August 13, 2007.
External links[]
de:Mauricio Rua fr:Mauricio Rua ja:マウリシオ・ショーグン no:Mauricio Rua pt:Maurício Rua sv:Mauricio Rua