Chute Boxe Academy
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| Est. | 1978
145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) |
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| Founded by | Rudimar Fedrigo |
| Primary trainers | Rudimar Fedrigo Rafael Cordeiro Mestre Zito |
| Current titleholders | Cristiane Santos women's featherweight champion (Strikeforce 2009) 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) [1] |
| Past titleholders | Wanderlei Silva middleweight champion (PrideFC 2001-2007); middlewieght Grand Prix Winner (PrideFC 2003); light heavyweight champion (IVC 1999) 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) Mauricio Rua middleweight Grand Prix winner (PrideFC 2005) 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) Anderson Silva middleweight champion (Shooto 2001-2003) 168 lb (76 kg; 12.0 st) Jean Silva lightweight champion (Cage Rage 2004-2005) 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) Murilo Rua middleweight champion (Elite XC 2007) 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) Jose Landi-Jons middleweight champion (IVC 1999) 175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st) Rafael Cordeiro lightweight champion (IVC 1999) 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) |
| Prominent Fighters | Fabricio Werdum (Strikeforce) Evangelista Santos (Strikeforce) |
| Training Facility Locations |  Curitiba, Brazil |
The Chute Boxe Academy opened as a Muay Thai academy in 1978 in Curitiba, Brazil. Head trainer Rudimar Fedrigo later expanded the program in 1991 to include Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other aspects of modern mixed martial arts. By 1995, the Chute Boxe team was considered a prime training ground for Vale Tudo fighters. In 2004, an American branch, Chute Boxe USA, was established in Los Angeles, California.
Chute Boxe fighters are characterized by being extremely aggressive and physical, as well as well-rounded fighters, able to use submissions, punches, kicks, and various grappling styles as needed. [2]
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[edit] Beginnings
The Chute Boxe team first made a name for themselves in the MMA world during the late 1990s in the Brazilian vale tudo promotion known as the IVC. With an aggressive and physical style focused around their muay thai skills, Chute Boxe fighters captured three of the four belt titles in the promotion (Wanderlei Silva winning the light heavyweight belt, Jose Landi-Jons winning the middleweight belt, and Rafael Cordeiro winning the lightweight belt). The promotion ended up serving as a spring board for the Chute Boxe team (as well as many other Brazilian MMA stars) into the lucrative Japanese MMA market. For Chute Boxe specifically, it would help to launch their careers in Japan's PRIDE FC.
[edit] PRIDE FC dynasty
The major cog of the Chute Boxe machine in PRIDE was Wanderlei Silva. Known for an exciting, brawling style complete with lethal knees and leaping stomps, he would exemplify Chute Boxe style martial arts in PRIDE’s middleweight division and eventually win the 2003 PRIDE FC Middleweight Grand Prix and the PRIDE FC middleweight title which he would hold for 6 years.
Coming off of a disappointing three-round decision loss to Tito Ortiz at UFC 25: Ultimate Japan Silva would return to PRIDE to earn the biggest victory of his career to that point over the Lion’s Den’s Guy Mezger. It would be 20 fights and over four years before he would lose again in a controversial decision to superheavyweight Mark Hunt. During this span he knocked out notable fighters Kazushi Sakuraba (three times), Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (twice) and Yuki Kondo.
His aura of invincibility wouldn’t truly be broken until a decision loss to Ricardo Arona in the 2005 PRIDE FC middle weight Grand Prix. His loss would be avenged later that night by fellow teammate and rising star, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
[edit] Enter the Rua brothers
As the older of the Rua brothers, Murilo “Ninja” Rua had an impressive run during his years with PRIDE FC. Wins over Mario Sperry, Akira Shoji and Alexander Otsuka established him as a respectable contender in the organization. His younger brother Mauricio "Shogun" Rua would also enter the PRIDE fighting championships and would prove the most successful fighter produced by Chute Boxe under Wanderlei Silva's and Ninja's guidance.
Younger than Murilo by about a year and a half, “Shogun” has defeated a who’s who list of fighters including Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, Akira Shoji, Akihiro Gono, “Rampage” Jackson, Alistair Overeem (twice), Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira, Ricardo Arona, Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, and Chuck Liddell. His exciting, fan-friendly style includes much of the standard Chute Boxe Muay Thai clinch work, knees, stomps, and soccer kicks.
[edit] Rivalry with Brazilian Top Team
The opposite number in terms of Brazilian dominance in PRIDE FC was the Brazilian Top Team which was comprised, at the time, of such fighters as Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, Ricardo Arona, and Murilo Bustamante. Competition between the two teams was hardly limited to the Pride scene however. Matches between fighters of the two organizations had taken place in Brazil, Portugal and other parts of the world before, but perhaps the most interesting chapter of the rivalry took place on August 28th, 2005 at the 2005 PRIDE FC middle weight Grand Prix.
The 2005 PRIDE FC middleweight Grand Prix would be the first such competition for newcomers Mauricio Rua and BTT’s Ricardo Arona. Both scored impressive victories over highly regarded veterans Alistair Overeem and middleweight champ Wanderlei Silva respectively. It was Arona’s victory over the latter that would stoke the flames of the rivalry because until then Silva had been the torch-bearer for Chute Boxe. Later that night, however, “Shogun” would pick up the torch with a thoroughly dominating first round KO of Arona, ultimately finishing him on the ground which was considered Arona’s strength.
Another noticeable aspect of this period is that it shortly followed the departure of promising prospect Anderson Silva. Silva had noted several disputes with Chute Boxe's management as reasons for leaving the team and shortly began training with some of Brazilian Top Team's best in the Nogueira brothers. He was quoted in an ESPN article as stating that friendships formed with his former rivals helped to save his career upon his departure from Chute Boxe. [3]
[edit] Rivalry with Team Hammer House
Chute Boxe was involved in a short melee with Team Hammer House which started at PRIDE 31 after a confrontation erupted between Chute Boxe members Wanderlei Silva and Murilo Rua, and Team Hammer House members Mark Coleman and Phil Baroni. The conflict began after Coleman pushed aside the referee who tried to restrain him from continuing his attack on an injured Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Coleman's outburst could have been due to members of Chute Boxe entering the ring. Despite this, Silva and other Chute Boxe members attacked Coleman in the ring, Baroni took Silva to the ground and Wanderlei had to be restrained with a foot placed on his head. Following the event, Coleman attempted to apologize to Chute Boxe, but the apology was not accepted. The rivalry continued at UFC 93 Franklin vs Henderson, although Mauricio Rua had left Chute Boxe by that time. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua would face Mark Coleman in the co-main event for the second time to answer any questions as to how the first fight may have ended. The fight was intended to be a comeback fight for Shogun, who was coming off a disappointing loss in his last fight. Instead of dominating the fight, Shogun was having visible difficulties ending the fight. He looked exhausted after the first round. Coleman was hurt in several points throughout the fight and was barely surviving. However, Rua's unusual lack of stamina brought the fight to the third round where Coleman ultimately lost by TKO at 4:45 seconds. Shogun and Coleman showed each other respect after the fight (which won fight of the night) and Coleman expressed interests after the fight of facing Shogun one last time. Shogun quelled any questions brought to light by his lackluster performance in his next fight when he knocked out former UFC light-heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend, Chuck Liddell.
[edit] Post-Pride era
With the demise of PRIDE FC in late 2007, coinciding the departure of its first mass-appeal superstar Wanderlei Silva around the same time, Chute Boxe entered a new era. Moreover, the official announcement of Rua brothers, Mauricio and Murilo, Thiago Silva and Andre "Dida" Amade's departure from Chute Boxe also accelerated the demise of the team which has dominated the recent history of MMA. Further troubling to the team, the proposed addition of now-deceased Evan Tanner was short-lived when the fighter left the team after a few months. [4][5]
However there is some reason for optimism about up and coming fighters like lightweights Junior Santos and Jean Silva and the recent addition of Strikeforce heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum (ADCC +99 kg Champion, 2007) has augmented their talent. In addition, the success of female fighter Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos on promotions like EliteXC and more recently Strikeforce (where she holds the promotion's first women's championship belt) makes her currently their most marketable fighter. [6]
[edit] Former Chute Boxe fighters/trained with
- Anderson Silva -> Left Chute Boxe in 2003 to start Muay Thai Dream Team.[citation needed]
- Gabriel Gonzaga -> Left Chute Boxe in 2006 to move to Ludlow, Massachusetts and join Team Link.[citation needed]
- Assuerio Silva -> Left Chute Boxe in 2003 to start Muay Thai Dream Team.[citation needed]
- Nino "Elvis" Schembri-> Left Chute Boxe in 2006 due to personal reasons (family).[citation needed]
- Anthony "Rumble" Johnson -> Left Chute Boxe in 2006 to join Team Allegiance.[citation needed]
- Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons -> Left due to not getting credit for training Murilo Rua.[citation needed]
- Wanderlei Silva (former PRIDE Middleweight champion) -> Left Chute Boxe in 2007 to train with Xtreme Couture, in 2008 Silva opened a new gym under the banner "Wand Fight Team." [7]
- Mauricio Rua (PRIDE 2005 Middleweight GP champion) -> Left Chute Boxe in 2007 and founded Universidade da Luta
- Murilo Rua (former Elite XC Middleweight champion) -> Left Chute Boxe in 2007 and founded Universidade da Luta
- Andre Amade -> Left Chute Boxe in 2007 and founded Universidade da Luta
- Kazushi Sakuraba trained alongside former rival Wanderlei Silva in Brazil in 2005
- Evan Tanner joined and left Chute Boxe USA in 2007
- Thiago Silva left Chute Boxe in 2008 and joined American Top Team
[edit] References
- ^ "Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos: Fight Finder Page". Sherdog.com. N/A. http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Cristiane-Santos-14477. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ "Foreign invasion: Some familiar faces are ready for action at UFC". SI.com. 2007. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/todd_martin/07/02/foreign.invasion/index.html. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
- ^ "Silva not fazed by fighting in Franklin's home town". ESPN/Sherdog. 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=3070271. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
- ^ "SHOGUN & NINJA CONTINUE CHUTE BOXE EXODUS". Ken Pishna / MMAWeekly.com. 2007. http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=5298&zoneid=2. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- ^ "Ruas talk Chute Boxe". Yahoo Sports / MMAWeekly.com. 2007. http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AogO6IArYDqlJsEJqHhwawI9Eo14?slug=ys-maxboxruas122007&prov=yhoo&type=lgns. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
- ^ "The State of Chute Boxe, Gleidson Venga". Sherdog. 2009-02-02. http://sherdog.com/news/articles/1/the-state-of-chute-boxe-16021. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ "Wanderlei: Não luto com o Shogun por dinheiro nenhum". Tatame News. 2007. http://www.tatame.com.br/2007/08/20/Wanderlei--Nao-luto-com-o-Shogun-por-dinheiro-nenhum-. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
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