Maurício Milani Rua (; born 25 November 1981), also known as Shogun, is a Brazilian professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

and former model. He competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). He is a former

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

. A professional competitor since 2002, Rua is also the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion.

Background

Rua was born on 25 November 1981 and raised in

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area ...

, Brazil and is of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

descent. Rua's father is a businessman and his mother is a former track athlete and now marathon runner. He has an older brother,

Murilo Murilo is a village, atoll, and municipality in the state of Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia. It is located 9 km to the NE of Nomwin Atoll and 101 km to the NNE of Chuuk Lagoon. Its population is over a 1,000 people. Together w ...

(nicknamed Ninja, born 1980), and a younger brother, Marcos (nicknamed Shaolin). Both are mixed martial artists training at Universidade da luta, though Marcos does not compete at a professional level. The Rua brothers occasionally take 10-kilometre runs with their mother. Rua began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of six and Muay Thai at the age of seven. Rua followed his older brother in training at the Chute Boxe Academy, and was successful in BJJ championships at the blue and purple belt levels. In addition to Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he now trains in wrestling and boxing.

Mixed martial arts career

Early 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 Academy teammate

Evangelista Santos Evangelista Santos ( born December 12, 1977) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 until 2016, Santos competed for Strikeforce, Bellator MMA, the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, International Vale Tudo Ch ...

. 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 Championships'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 Renato da Cunha Sobral (; born 7 September 1975), also known as "Babalu", is a retired Brazilian Luta Livre submission grappler, mixed martial artist, and was the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. Sobral previously fought in the Ult ...

with a guillotine in the third round.

PRIDE Fighting Championship

PRIDE Debut, Bushido and PRIDE 29

Following his victory in the IFC tournament, Shogun made his way to Japan to enter the

PRIDE Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) w ...

organization. He made his PRIDE debut at the inaugural PRIDE Bushido 1, a side promotion for lighter fighters. In his three Bushido appearances, Rua defeated

Akira Shoji Akira Shoji (小路晃) (born January 31, 1974) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is most known as being a regular in almost all the beginning Pride Fighting Championship Shoji was in Pride 1 to Pride 7, an ...

Akihiro Gono (born October 7, 1974) is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 1994, he is best known for his clever and deceptive fighting style, and for his flashy ring entrances. Gon ...

, and

Yasuhito Namekawa (born October 27, 1974) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division. Namekawa made his Mixed martial arts debut for Fighting Network Rings in 1998. He fought in mainly Shoot fighting bouts until 1999 when ...

, all by strikes in the first round. Rua graduated to his debut in a main PRIDE event at '' PRIDE 29'', where he faced former professional wrestler

Hiromitsu Kanehara ) is a former Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler of Korean descent. A professional MMA competitor from 1998 until 2012, he found success in Fighting Network RINGS, gaining notable victories over Valentijn Overeem, Alexan ...

, a Japanese fighter known for his toughness. Rua defeated Kanehara by stomps early in the first round.

PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix

He entered the PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix tournament as an underdog. For the first round of the tournament at ''

PRIDE Total Elimination 2005 The year 2005 is the 9th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2005 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride 29 - Fists of Fire''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The ...

'', he faced

Quinton Jackson Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (born June 20, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist, actor and former professional wrestler, who most recently fought in the Bellator MMA. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and unified the Pride Middlew ...

, whom he had challenged after Jackson won a controversial split decision over

Murilo Rua Murilo Milani Rua (; born May 22, 1980), also known as Ninja, is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist who fought in Pride Fighting Championships. He is the older brother of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He is ...

at '' PRIDE 29''. 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 said that Shogun was the best fighter he had ever fought. In the second round at '' PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005'', Rua faced

Antônio Rogério Nogueira Antônio Rogério Nogueira (; born 2 June 1976), also known as Minotouro or Lil Nog, is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC. He is the twin brother of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, the "Minotauro ...

, a member of Chute Boxe's rival academy

Brazilian Top Team The Brazilian Top Team (BTT) is an academy specialized in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and mixed martial arts. It established in April 2000 by Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Libório, Mário Sperry and Luis Roberto Duarte, former members of the Carlson Grac ...

. Rua defeated Nogueira by unanimous decision. On 28 August 2005, Rua participated in '' PRIDE Final Conflict 2005'', in which the last two bouts of the tournament were held on the same night. Rua defeated

Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Cha ...

by TKO in the first round, while

Ricardo Arona Ricardo Arona (; born 17 July 1978) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional from 2000 until 2009, he competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships and RINGS in his mixed martial arts career, and was a member of Brazilian Top Te ...

defeated Rua's teammate

Wanderlei Silva Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the ...

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 Champion. He received a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from Nino Schembri afterwards, a process that only took him four years from when he got his purple belt. This wrapped up a year in which he won Fighter of the Year honors from Sherdog.com.

Incident with Hammer House

In the next fight after his Grand Prix win, Shogun faced Heavyweight wrestling star and PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Champion

Mark Coleman Mark Daniel Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and amateur wrestler. Coleman was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride ...

at '' PRIDE 31''. As Coleman executed a takedown, Rua landed awkwardly and dislocated his elbow, forcing a stoppage due to injury. Coleman was pulled off of Shogun by the referee, and was confronted immediately by members of Rua's corner. This led to an in-ring brawl between Hammer House and Chute Boxe.

End of PRIDE career

At ''

PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute The year 2006 was the 10th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2006 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride 31 - Unbreakable''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The f ...

'' he defeated French kickboxer

Cyrille Diabate Cyrille is both a French masculine given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name * Cyrille Adoula (1921–1978), Congolese politician who served as Premier of the Republic of the Congo (1961–1 ...

by tapout due to stomps. At '' Pride 32'' he submitted former

UFC Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Kevin Randleman Kevin Christopher Randleman (August 10, 1971 – February 11, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Randleman's background was in collegiate wrestling, in which he became ...

with a

kneebar A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are f ...

at 2:35 of the first round, the only submission victory of his career. In his final

appearance at '' Pride 33'', he fought a rematch with

and knocked the Dutch fighter 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,

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

, and MMAWeekly.com.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After the UFC bought out PRIDE, Shogun signed on with the UFC and made his debut in the organization at ''

UFC 76 '' UFC 76: Knockout'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event took place on September 22, 2007, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Although the event was advertised with the ...

''. Facing The Ultimate Fighter 1 Winner

Forrest Griffin Forrest Griffin (born July 1, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2013 and currently serves as the Vice President of Athlete Development at the ...

, Rua was favoured to win. However, Rua had difficulty with Griffin and became exhausted early on and was dominated for the remainder of the fight. He succumbed to a

rear-naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikog ...

in the final seconds of the third round. He then had surgery for a pre-existing knee injury. Rua left Chute Boxe in January 2008 and opened his own camp, Universidade da luta, with his brother Murilo in

. In the months following his surgery Rua completely reruptured damaged ligaments during training and was forced to undergo a second knee surgery. This forced him to drop out of '' UFC 85''. He was granted a rematch with

at ''

UFC 93 ''UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on January 17, 2009 at The O2, Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. Background The main event featured a Light Heavyweight bout between fo ...

'' in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. 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 from fans for his lackluster performance against Coleman, who was 44 years old at the time and had not competed in over two years. Rua's next fight took place at ''

UFC 97 ''UFC 97: Redemption'' (not to be confused with ''UFC 17: Redemption'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on April 18, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background This event broke the UFC attendanc ...

'' in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

against former longtime

UFC Light heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Chuck Liddell. Rua won by KO 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 title shot.

Title bouts with Machida

At ''

UFC 104 ''UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on October 24, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Background As with UFC 103, the UFC announced a portion of the preliminary card would ...

'' Shogun lost by unanimous decision to UFC Light heavyweight Champion

Lyoto Machida (born 30 May 1978), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and karateka, who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light ...

. All three judges scored the bout 48–47 in Machida's favor. Journalists and UFC President

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

had scored the fight in Rua's favor. Due to the controversy of the

decision, a rematch was immediately announced and took place at ''

UFC 113 ''UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 8, 2010, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background UFC 113 featured the rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauríci ...

'' on 8 May 2010 in Montreal. Rua won via knockout at 3:35 of round 1, after dropping Machida with a right and following up with punches on the ground. He was awarded the UFC Light heavyweight Championship, becoming just the second fighter to have won PRIDE and UFC titles. Following the victory, Rua underwent surgery in June to repair a knee injured during the bout against Machida.

UFC Light heavyweight Champion

Rua's first title defense was scheduled on 19 March 2011 against

Rashad Evans Rashad Anton Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist. Evans started his professional career in 2003, he was the Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2 and is also a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and a 2 ...

, who had won by unanimous decision over

UFC 114 ''UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 29, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC Fan Expo took place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Backg ...

on 29 May 2010. However, following

Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...

's victory over

Ryan Bader Arizona State Sun Devils Ryan DuWayne Bader (born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA where he is the current Bellator Heavyweight Champion, the former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion, an ...

UFC 126 ''UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 5, 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background Former Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor B ...

, 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

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

. Jones accepted and the fight was programmed for

UFC 128 ''UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 19, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background This event was expected to take place in Abu Dha ...

was also offered the title fight but declined, as six weeks' notice did not provide enough time to make weight. In the title fight, Jones began the fight with a

flying knee A knee strike (commonly referred to simply as a knee) is a strike with the knee, either with the kneecap or the surrounding area. Kneeing is a disallowed practice in many combat sports, especially to the head of a downed opponent. Styles such as ...

to the head. Rua later said the blow greatly affected his performance for the rest of the bout. Jones kept the pressure on Rua throughout the rest of the fight, utilizing unorthodox striking and

ground and pound Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. Rua lost the fight via TKO in round three.

Post title fights

After the loss to Jones, Rua's rematch with

took place on 27 August 2011 at

UFC 134 ''UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami'' (also known as ''UFC Rio'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 27, 2011 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was the second that t ...

. 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 had now avenged three of his six losses. Rua faced

Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...

on 19 November 2011 at

UFC 139 ''UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 2011 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. It was the first UFC event in San Jose, the longtime home and base ar ...

, losing via unanimous decision. Henderson was in control for most of the first three rounds, dropping Rua in the third. In the fourth round, the momentum started to shift towards Rua, who was able to mount Henderson. Despite the decision loss, Rua was awarded a ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. This fight is widely viewed as the "Fight of the Year" for 2011. Rua was expected to face

Thiago Silva Thiago Emiliano da Silva (born 22 September 1984) is a Brazilian professional Association Football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and captains the Brazil national football team, Brazil national team. Con ...

on 21 July 2012, at

UFC 149 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...

. However, Silva was forced out of the bout with an injury. Rua faced Brandon Vera on 4 August 2012, at UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera. In a back-and-forth affair, Shogun managed to drop Vera several times and won by TKO due to punches in the fourth round. Rua faced

Alexander Gustafsson Alexander Gustafsson (born 15 January 1987) is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist. Gustafsson currently competes in the light heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gustafsson spent a major part of his MMA ...

on 8 December 2012, at

UFC on Fox 5 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Rua was expected to face

in a rematch at

UFC 161 ''UFC 161: Evans vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held on June 15, 2013, at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Background While the UFC has hosted several events in the past in Canada, the event was the first that the or ...

. However, Nogueira pulled out of the bout in the days leading up to the event citing a back injury. Perennial multi-divisional contender

Chael Sonnen Chael Patrick Sonnen (; born April 3, 1977) is an American submission grappling promoter, mixed martial arts (MMA) analyst, and retired mixed martial artist. Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Sonnen competed for the Ultimate Fighting Champion ...

was briefly linked as a replacement for Nogueira but eventually Rua was pulled from the event altogether. On 17 August 2013, at

UFC Fight Night 26 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 26'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 17, 2013, at the TD Garden in Boston. Background The event was the first UFC event broadcast on Fox Sports 1. The main e ...

, Rua faced

in the main event. He lost the fight via a guillotine choke submission in the first round. Rua next faced

James Te Huna James Te Huna (born 29 September 1981) is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship who has been called a pioneer of New Zealand mixed martial artists. He was the first Australian-based fighter to win a UFC fight on Australi ...

on 7 December 2013, at UFC Fight Night 33. He won the fight via first round knockout. The win also earned Rua his third ''Knockout of the Night'' bonus award. A rematch with

took place on 23 March 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 38 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 38'') was a mixed martial arts event held on March 23, 2014, at the Ginásio Nélio Dias in Natal, Brazil. Background The event was headlined by the anticipated remat ...

. After winning the first two rounds and scoring a knockdown in each, he was defeated via strikes in the third round. Despite the TKO loss, Rua was given his third ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award, his second for a bout against Henderson. Rua sustained a broken nose in his fight with Henderson that required surgery. On 29 October 2014, it was announced that Rua would coach opposite

Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 an ...

for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4, which began filming in early 2015. Despite being coaches on the show, the two fighters will not face each other at the end of the season. In September 2014, Rua revealed that he had signed a new, eight-fight contract with the UFC. Rua was expected to face

Jimi Manuwa Babajimi Abiola "Jimi" Manuwa (born 18 February 1980) is an American-born English retired mixed martial artist of Nigerian descent who competed in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Manuwa was born ...

on 8 November 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 56 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Saint Preux'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 56'') was a mixed martial arts event held at the Ginásio Municipal Tancredo Neves in Uberlândia, Brazil, on November 8, 2014. Background After previously holding even ...

. However, on 29 October, it was revealed that Manuwa was injured and was replaced by Ovince St. Preux. Rua lost the fight via knockout at just 34 seconds into the first round, the fastest knockout loss of his career. Ten years after their first bout, Rua had a rematch against former opponent

on 1 August 2015 at

UFC 190 ''UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 1, 2015, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between former UFC Bantamwei ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision and both participants were awarded ''Fight of the Night'' honors. A long discussed bout against

was rescheduled and was expected to take place on 16 April 2016 at

UFC on Fox 19 ''UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 19'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 16, 2016, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Background The event was the second that the organization has hosted in the Tampa Bay A ...

. However, Rua was pulled from the fight on 9 March in favor of a matchup with Corey Anderson a couple of weeks later at

UFC 198 ''UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic'' was a mixed martial arts event held on May 14, 2016, at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil. Background The event was initially announced as a ''Fight Night'' event with a middleweight bout between former UFC Ligh ...

. Rua was awarded a split decision victory. Rua next faced

Gian Villante Gianpiero Villante (born August 18, 1985) is a retired American mixed martial artist who previously fought in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional from 2009 to 2021, he also has competed for Strikeforce ...

on 11 March 2017 at UFC Fight Night 106. He won the fight via technical knock-out in the third round. A rematch with

Ovince Saint Preux Ovince Saint Preux (born April 8, 1983) is a Haitian-American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 2008, Saint Preux has also formerly competed for Strikef ...

was expected to take place on 22 September 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 117 ''UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 117'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 23, 2017 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Background The ...

. However, Rua pulled out of the fight as the event was approaching on 16 September and was replaced by returning veteran

Yushin Okami is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Okami has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, M-1 Global, World Series of Fighting, DEEP, Professional Fighters League, and ONE Championship. Mixed martial arts ...

. Rua was expected to face

Volkan Oezdemir Volkan Oezdemir (born 19 September 1989) is a Swiss professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxing practitioner. He currently competes in the Light heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competi ...

on 12 May 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 129 ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 129'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 19, 2018, at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. Background The even ...

. However it was reported on 13 April 2018 that Oezdemir was pulled from the event due to alleged

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

issues restricting his travel to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. The pairing was left intact and rescheduled for 22 July 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 134 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 134'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2018, at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Background The event was ...

, However the bout was cancelled once again after promotion officials elected to pull Oezdemir from that fight in favor of a matchup against

the following month at

UFC 227 ''UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt 2'' was a mixed martial arts event that was produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on August 4, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Background A UFC Bantamweight Championshi ...

. He was replaced by Anthony Smith. Rua lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Rua faced

Tyson Pedro Tyson Pedro (born 17 September 1991) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Pedro is an Australian of Spanish, American Samoa heritage. ...

on 2 December 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 142 ''UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 142'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on 2 December 2018 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Sou ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in round three, finishing Pedro with a flurry of strikes after Pedro suffered a leg injury and was unable to defend himself. This win earned him the

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

award. Rua was expected to face

Sam Alvey Samuel William Alvey (born May 6, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Alvey has also formerly co ...

on 16 November 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 22. However, Alvey was removed from the fight on 25 October due to a broken hand and was replaced by

Paul Craig Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

. After three rounds, the back-and-forth fight was declared a split draw. A third bout with

was scheduled to take place on 9 May 2020 at

UFC 250 ''UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 6, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. However, the bout was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The bout eventually took place on 26 July 2020 at

UFC on ESPN 14 ''UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 14'' and ''UFC Fight Island 3'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 26, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu ...

. He won the fight via split decision. A rematch with

took place on 21 November 2020 at

UFC 255 ''UFC 255: Figueiredo vs. Perez'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 21, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Rua had a rematch against

on 7 May 2022 at

UFC 274 ''UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 7, 2022, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Background The event was originally link ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Rua is scheduled to face Ihor Potieria on January 21, 2023, at

UFC 283 ''UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on January 21, 2023, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event will mark the p ...

Personal life

On 12 September 2007, Rua married physiotherapist Renata Ribeiro. Their first child, a daughter named Maria Eduarda, was born on 15 January 2010. Before becoming a fighter, Rua worked as a model in Brazil, doing books, pictures, and even fashion shows for brands. Of this time, he once said "The first work is fight, and the second is model."

Championships and achievements

* PRIDE Fighting Championships ** 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion *

** Knockout of the Night (

Three times ''Three Times'' ( Chinese: 最好的時光; ''Zuìhǎo de shíguāng''; lit. 'Best of Times') is a 2005 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. It consists of three separate stories of romance, set in different eras, using the same lead actors ...

) vs. Chuck Liddell,

and

** Fight of the Night ( Four times) vs.

(x2),

( One time) vs.

**Tied ( with

and

Glover Teixeira Glover Lucas Teixeira (; born 28 October 1979) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champi ...

) for most fight-night bonuses in UFC Light Heavyweight division history (eight) **Fight of the Year (2011) vs.

UFC Hall of Fame The UFC Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors mixed martial artists and MMA personalities, established and maintained by the U.S.-based mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In addition to the Ultimate Fighting ...

(Fight Wing, Class of 2018) vs.

World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...

**2010 Knockout of the Year versus

on 8 May **2011 Fight of the Year versus

on 19 November *

**2005 Fighter of the Year **2005 Fight of the Year versus

on 26 June **2009 Comeback Fighter of the Year **Mixed Martial Arts Hall of Fame *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards This is a list of both active and inactive ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' awards created by professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Dave Meltzer. The first fourteen awards were created in 1980 as an informal poll between ...

**2011 Fight of the Year versus

on 19 November

Mixed martial arts record

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, Decision (split) ,

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Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 26–11 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:43 ,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 25–11 , Anthony Smith , KO (elbow) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:29 ,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 25–10 ,

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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 23–10 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–10 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Saint Preux , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:34 ,

Uberlândia Uberlândia () is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. It is the second largest municipality in the state of Minas Gerais after the state capital Belo Horizonte. Its population in 2020 was 699,097, making it the fo ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–9 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:31 ,

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 22–8 ,

, KO (punch) , UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:03 , ,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–8 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:47 , Boston, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–7 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–6 , Brandon Vera , TKO (punches) , UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 4:09 ,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–5 ,

, KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:53 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–5 ,

, TKO (punches and knees) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:37 ,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Lyoto Machida (born 30 May 1978), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and karateka, who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light ...

, KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:35 ,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 , Chuck Liddell , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:28 , Montreal, Quebec, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:36 ,

, Ireland , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–3 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:45 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–2 ,

, KO (punches) , PRIDE 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:37 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–2 ,

Kazuhiro Nakamura Kazuhiro Nakamura ( , born July 16, 1979) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist who competed as a Middleweight in DREAM, and is a former DEEP Middleweight Champion. He fought out of the Yoshida Dojo and also competed in the Pride Fighting ...

, Decision (unanimous) ,

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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 ,

, Submission (kneebar) , PRIDE 32 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:35 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 ,

Cyrille Diabaté Cyrille Moktar Diabaté (born October 6, 1973) is a retired French mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He has also competed in shoot boxing and Muay Thai. He has fought at Palace Fighting Championship, Tachi Palace Fights, PRIDE, ShoXC, Deep, ...

, TKO (stomps) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:29 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–2 ,

, TKO (broken arm) , PRIDE 31 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 ,

, KO (punches) , rowspan=2, PRIDE Final Conflict 2005 , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:54 , rowspan=2, Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:42 , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, TKO (soccer kicks) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:47 ,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 ,

, TKO (stomp) , PRIDE 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

PRIDE Bushido 5 The year 2004 is the 8th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2004 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride 27 - Inferno''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The followi ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:02 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 ,

, TKO (soccer kicks) , PRIDE Bushido 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 9:04 ,

Kanagawa is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 ,

, KO (punches) , PRIDE Bushido 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:47 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , rowspan=2, IFC: Global Domination , rowspan=2, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:07 , rowspan=2,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Erik Wanderley , TKO (punches) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:54 , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 ,

, TKO (punches) , Meca World Vale Tudo 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 9:22 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Angelo de Oliveira , TKO (soccer kicks) , Meca World Vale Tudo 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:55 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Rafael Freitas , KO (kick) , Meca World Vale Tudo 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:00 ,

, Brazil , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rua, Mauricio 1981 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian Muay Thai practitioners Sportspeople from Curitiba Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

PRIDE Fighting Championship

PRIDE Debut, Bushido and PRIDE 29

PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix

Incident with Hammer House

End of PRIDE career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Title bouts with Machida

UFC Light heavyweight Champion

Post title fights

Personal life

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links