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Maurício Rua

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Maurício Rua
BornMaurício Milani Rua
(1981-11-25) November 25, 1981 (age 42)
Curitiba, Brazil
Other namesShogun
NationalityBrazilian
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
DivisionLight Heavyweight
Reach76 in (193 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofCuritiba, Brazil
TeamChute Boxe (2002–2008)
Universidade da luta (2008–present)[2]
TrainerNino Schembri
Rafael Cordeiro
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black belt in Chute Boxe Muay Thai system
Years active2002 – present (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total26
Wins20
By knockout17
By submission1
By decision2
Losses6
By knockout2
By submission2
By decision2
Notable relativesMurilo Rua (brother)
Websitehttp://www.mauricioshogun.com.br/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Last updated on: November 23, 2011

Maurício Milani Rua (Portuguese pronunciation: [mawˈɾisiu ˈʁuɐ]; born November 25, 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Nicknamed Shogun, Rua was also the winner of the Pride Fighting Championship's 2005 Middleweight (205 lb) Grand Prix.

He received a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from Nino Schembri after winning the Pride 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix. In addition to his black belt in jiu-jitsu, Shogun also has a black belt in the Chute Boxe Muay Thai system under the universally respected Rafael Cordeiro. Rua is currently ranked as the No. 3 Light Heavyweight fighter by Sherdog[3] and No. 4 by MMAWeekly.[4]

Early life

Rua was born and raised in Curitiba, Brazil. His father, working in the business world, is a successful businessman who runs his own business, and his mother was a track athlete and is currently a marathon runner. The Rua brothers occasionally run 10 km runs with their mother as well.[5] Shogun has an older brother Murilo (born 1980) and a younger brother Marcos "Shaolin" Rua.[5] Both are mixed martial artists training at Universidade da luta, though Marcos does not compete at a professional level.

Shogun has stated that he began training in Muay Thai at the age of 15, and began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu at 17.[6] 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 Kick-boxing record.[7] 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.[8][9]

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 Erik Wanderlei due to punches, and in the second bout got the first submission loss of his career against Renato Sobral with a guillotine choke in the third round. The loss was considered by some as controversial because despite Shogun moving his arms in a peculiar way to signify a submission, Shogun never actually submitted and was trying use his arms to get his head free of the guillotine choke. It's also considered by some as controversial due to Shogun going on immediately to have success in PRIDE.

Pride Fighting Championship

Following his victory 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 stomps and soccer kicks 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, he entered 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 Maurício 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.[10] 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 faced heavyweight wrestler and Pride Grand Prix 2000 winner Mark Coleman at Pride 31. As Coleman executed a takedown, Rua landed awkwardly and dislocated his elbow, forcing a stoppage due to injury. 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,[11] Sherdog,[12] and MMAWeekly.com.[13]

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. 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.[14] However, Rua had difficulty with Griffin and became exhausted early on and was dominated for the remainder 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. He also injured his knee during the fight and had elective surgery afterwards while Griffin would soon have major shoulder surgery to repair a nagging injury.[15][16] Rua left Chute Boxe in January 2008 and opened his own camp, Universidade da luta, with his brother Murilo in his hometown, Curitiba, Brazil.[17]

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 narrowly defeated Coleman by TKO with 24 seconds left in the third round after both fighters were visibly exhausted. 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 at the time and had not competed in over two years.[18][19] Rua's next fight took place at UFC 97 in Montreal, Canada against former longtime UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell. Shogun went onto defeat Chuck by TKO due to strikes. With this victory, Rua returned to the top-ten rankings for the light heavyweight division, and the UFC decided to put him next in line for a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, which many fans complained about due to his last two previous preformances and the fact that he only held one victory over a top-ten light heavyweight fighter.

Fighting for the UFC Light Heavyweight title

At UFC 104 Shogun lost a unanimous decision to UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. All three judges scored the bout 48–47 in favor of Machida.

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Due to the controversy of the decision, of his UFC 104 loss to Machida, a rematch was immediately announced and took place at UFC 113 on May 8, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Rua won via knockout at 3:35 of round 1, after dropping Machida with a right and following up with punches on the ground, and was awarded the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Following the victory, Rua underwent surgery in June to repair a knee injured during the bout against Machida. UFC President Dana White officially confirmed that Rua's first title defense would be on March 19, 2011 against Rashad Evans, who had recently won a unanimous decision over Quinton Jackson.[20]

However, following Jon Jones' victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 126, it was announced that Evans had blown his knee out in training and would not be able to face Rua. Jones was told during his post-fight interview that the UFC wanted him to replace Evans against Rua for the Light Heavyweight Championship. Jones accepted and the fight which took place at UFC 128.[21] Rua later disclosed that Quinton Jackson was offered the title fight but declined, which Jackson confirmed, explaining the reasons he declined was due to the short notice; six weeks and because he would not be able to make weight.[22]

Losing the Title

Rua lost the belt during his first title defense to Jon Jones. Jones was able to overwhelm Rua from start to finish beginning with a flying right knee to the head of Rua mere seconds into the first round. Rua would later attribute that single first knee to greatly affecting his performance for the rest of the bout.[23] Jones eventually ended the fight when he landed a left punch to the body of Rua quickly followed by a knee to the head as he fell to the ground, where the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.

Post-title and future

A rematch with Forrest Griffin took place on August 27, 2011 at UFC 134. In a match that looked like the complete opposite of their original bout, Shogun demonstrated good head movement and footwork, as well as good accuracy and striking power, to win the bout via KO early in the first round. Rua has now avenged 3 of his 5 losses.[24]

Rua faced Dan Henderson on November 19, 2011 at UFC 139, losing via unanimous decision.[25] The back and forth action earned both fighters Fight of the Night honors, and was described by many as one of the greatest fights in UFC history.[26][27] Henderson controlled the match for the first three rounds with strikes and almost ended the fight in the 3rd round, but Rua staggered Henderson in the 4th as exhaustion set in heavily on both fighters. Rua gained full mount over Henderson and held it for most of the final round, but was unable to earn a stoppage. Many pundits, including UFC President Dana White felt the fight could have been scored a draw.[28]

Personal life

On September 12, 2007, Rua married physiotherapist Renata Ribeiro.[29] The couple had their first child, a daughter named Maria Eduarda, on January 15, 2010.[30]

Before becoming a fighter Rua worked as a model in Brazil, doing books, pictures, and even fashion shows for brands.[31] He later stated in English, "The first work is fight, and the second is model."[31] Due to his relationship with Wanderlei Silva and of course with his own brother, Rua has stated that those are the only two people that he would never fight[32] Maurício is of Italian and Portuguese descent, and a fanatic supporter of Coritiba Foot Ball Club.[33]

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Status Date Championship Weight Location
Winner N/A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu South American Championship[6] 80 kg Brazil
5th N/A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Mundial Championship (blue belt level)[6] 80 kg Brazil

Muay Thai

Status Date Championship Weight Location
Winner 2003 STORM Muay Thai[34] Middleweight Brazil

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
26 matches 20 wins 6 losses
By knockout 17 2
By submission 1 2
By decision 2 2
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 20–6 Dan Henderson Decision (unanimous) UFC 139 November 19, 2011 5 5:00 San Jose, California, United States Fight of the Night. 2011 MMA Awards Fight of the Year.
Win 20–5 Forrest Griffin KO (punches) UFC 134 August 27, 2011 1 1:53 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Loss 19–5 Jon Jones TKO (punches and knees) UFC 128 March 19, 2011 3 2:37 Newark, New Jersey, United States Lost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win 19–4 Lyoto Machida KO (punches) UFC 113 May 8, 2010 1 3:35 Montreal, Quebec, Canada Won UFC Light Heavyweight Championship; Knockout of the Night. 2010 MMA Awards Knockout of the Year.
Loss 18–4 Lyoto Machida Decision (unanimous) UFC 104 October 24, 2009 5 5:00 Los Angeles, California, United States For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win 18–3 Chuck Liddell TKO (punches) UFC 97 April 18, 2009 1 4:28 Montreal, Quebec, Canada Knockout of the Night.
Win 17–3 Mark Coleman TKO (punches) UFC 93 January 17, 2009 3 4:36 Dublin, Ireland Fight of the Night.
Loss 16–3 Forrest Griffin Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 76 September 22, 2007 3 4:45 Anaheim, California, United States UFC Debut.
Win 16–2 Alistair Overeem KO (punches) Pride 33 February 24, 2007 1 3:37 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 15–2 Kazuhiro Nakamura Decision (unanimous) Pride Shockwave 2006 December 31, 2006 3 5:00 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Win 14–2 Kevin Randleman Submission (kneebar) Pride 32 October 21, 2006 1 2:35 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 13–2 Cyrille Diabaté TKO (stomps) Pride Final Conflict Absolute September 10, 2006 1 5:29 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Loss 12–2 Mark Coleman TKO (arm injury) Pride 31 February 26, 2006 1 0:49 Saitama, Saitama, Japan Shogun had his arm broken.
Win 12–1 Ricardo Arona KO (punches) Pride Final Conflict 2005 August 28, 2005 1 2:54 Saitama, Saitama, Japan Won the PRIDE Middleweight GP Championship (2005).
Win 11–1 Alistair Overeem TKO (punches) Pride Final Conflict 2005 August 28, 2005 1 6:42 Saitama, 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, 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, Osaka, Japan Pride 2005 Middleweight GP Opening Round.
Win 8–1 Hiromitsu Kanehara TKO (soccer kick) Pride 29 February 20, 2005 1 1:40 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Win 7–1 Yasuhito Namekawa TKO (soccer kick & punches) Pride Bushido 5 October 14, 2004 1 6:02 Osaka, Osaka, Japan
Win 6–1 Akihiro Gono TKO (soccer kick) Pride Bushido 2 February 15, 2004 1 9:04 Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Win 5–1 Akira Shoji KO (punches & stomp) Pride Bushido 1 October 5, 2003 1 3:47 Saitama, Saitama, Japan Pride Debut.
Loss 4–1 Renato Sobral Submission (guillotine choke) IFC: Global Domination September 6, 2003 3 3:07 Denver, Colorado, United States IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal
Win 4–0 Erik Wanderley TKO (punches) IFC: Global Domination September 6, 2003 2 2:54 Denver, Colorado, United States IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal
Win 3–0 Evangelista Santos TKO (punches) Meca World Vale Tudo 9 August 1, 2003 1 8:12 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Win 2–0 Angelo Antonio de Oliveira TKO (soccer kicks) Meca World Vale Tudo 8 May 16, 2003 1 0:55 Curitiba, Brazil
Win 1–0 Rafael Freitas KO (kick) Meca World Vale Tudo 7 November 8, 2002 1 4:00 Curitiba, Brazil

See also

References

  1. ^ "Maurício "Shogun" Rua Pride Profile". Pride FC. August 13, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  2. ^ "The downfall of BTT and Chute Boxe". ESPN.com. 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ "Light Heavyweight MMA Top 10". MMAWeekly.com. July 6, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  5. ^ a b "NINJA AND SHOGUN INTERVIEW". PrideFC. December 1, 2005. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  6. ^ a b c "MAURÍCIO RUA INTERVIEW". PrideFC. December 27, 2005. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  7. ^ Commentator Mauro Ranallo, at 0:15 of round 1 of Maurício 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."
  8. ^ "Maurício Shogun e Murilo Ninja butt". Portal do VT. August 13, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2007. I have been training a lot of Muay Thai, a lot of Jiu Jitsu, a lot of Wrestling [dead link]
  9. ^ "Ninja e Shogun at Chute Boxe". Dailymotion. August 13, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  10. ^ "Mixed martial arts notebook Well-traveled UFC president has big plans for the sport". OregonLive.com. June 22, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2007. Add UFC news: White recently signed Maurício '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
  11. ^ "Nokaut's TOP 10 Fighter Rankings". Nokaut. August 18, 2007.
  12. ^ "Sherdog's Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings". Sherdog. August 13, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  13. ^ "LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION Top 10 Ranking". MMAWeekly.com. August 8, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  14. ^ "Shogun to Face Griffin, Not Machida". Nokaut.com. July 19, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
  15. ^ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/781724-ufc-134-will-lightning-strike-twice-for-forrest-griffin-against-shogun-rua
  16. ^ "Shogun goes under the knife". mmafrenzy. September 26, 2007. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  17. ^ "Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Looking Forward To New Camp". MMAFightLine. January 28, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  18. ^ "Rua rewarded despite atrocious performance".
  19. ^ "WEC, Condit continue together". USATODAY.com. April 27, 2008. Retrieved 08–07–06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ^ "Shogun vs. Evans moved to UFC 129 in Newark". mixedmartialarts.com. December 14, 2010.
  21. ^ "Rashad Evans hurt, Jon Jones now challenges Shogun Rua for title at UFC 128". mmajunkie.com. February 5, 2011.
  22. ^ http://mmajunkie.com/news/22381/after-rampage-jackson-declined-jon-jones-got-ufc-128-title-fight.mma
  23. ^ "Shogun s'exprime après sa défaite : "Je suis dégoûté" (avec photos)". riddum.com. March 25, 2011.
  24. ^ "Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio Rua Rematch to Take Place at UFC Rio Event". MMAfighting. April 15, 2011.
  25. ^ "Shogun Rua Tabbed to Welcome Dan Henderson Back at UFC 139". MMAWeekly.com. September 19, 2011.
  26. ^ "UFC all-timer: Henderson wins 25-minute classic against Rua at UFC 139". yahoo.com. November 19, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  27. ^ "Dana White on UFC 139: Henderson vs. Rua one of best fights ever". latimes.com. November 19, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  28. ^ ["The Great Debate…Henderson vs. Shogun 72 hours later". MMehFighter. Novermber 22, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ The Chute Boxe athlete had married in the last September first with the physiotherapist Renata Ribeiro in Maringá , Paraná state,
  30. ^ "Shogun becomes father of baby girl". Tatame.com. January 15, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
  31. ^ a b Rua, Maurício (September 1, 2011). "Photo Shoot" (Interview). Interviewed by Seth Kelly, Editor in Chief of UFC Magazine. {{cite interview}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |interviewer= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |program= ignored (help)
  32. ^ "SHOGUN: THE BRAZILIAN MMA PRESS IS MANIPULATED BY JOINHA". January 9, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  33. ^ http://ethnicelebs.com/mauricio-shogun-rua
  34. ^ "Figher->Premiações:". Mauricio Shogun Official Website. August 13, 2007. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mauricio Rua.
Preceded by 11th UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
May 8, 2010 – March 20, 2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Pride FC Middleweight Tournament winner
August 28, 2005

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