MMA Fighter Bios: MAURICIO “SHOGUN” RUA

MAURICIO “SHOGUN” RUA

BORN: Curitiba, Brazil
6’1, 205 pounds

Being from Brazil there was a natural inclination to begin BJJ, but joining Muay Thai at age 7 was perhaps an early sign that we might have a star in the making in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
Rua began competing in MMA in 2002 in Brazil, and was successfull with 3 straight KO wins. Rua was a part of the IFC tournament and won his first bout before being stopped via guillotine by Renato Sobral in their battle. Nevertheless Pride FC added the Brazilian to their roster and he really began to shine.
8 straight wins in Pride would turn Shogun into a star. He’d be scoring KO over KO, victimimizing Akira Shoji, Akihiro Gono, Yasuhito Namekawa and Hiromitsu Kanehara. All impressive, but it was the next name he took down which really turned a lot of heads—Quinton Jackson. “Rampage” was taken out by Shogun after a barrage of strikes—from knees, punches, kicks, and soccer kicks which forced the referee to jump in and rescue a battered Jackson. That was the Pride 2005 Middleweight GP Opening Round, and that was just the beginning of Shogun’s act. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was dfeated in the next round, follwed by Alistair Overeem being TKOd in the quarterfinals. In the finals, a knockout of Ricardo Arona would seal the deal and win Shogun the tournament and immense respect in the MMA community. Many felt Shogun was the best 205er in the world.
Shogun’s next fight was a very unusual one where he lost after Mark Coleman took him down and he landed awkwardly, and breaking his arm.
But it was on a minor setback for Shogun, he was back a half year later to TKO Cyrille Diabate via stomps, kneebar Kevin Randleman, and then defeat Kazuhiro Nakmura and knockout Alistair Overeem once again.
There was a lot of hype as Shogun made his UFC debut in the fall of 2007, and was expected to crush Forrest Griffin. But it would be Griffin who would win the fight via rear naked choke. Rua was not in good shape for the fight and would have the same cardiovascular issues in his lackluster win over Mark Coleman. Knee problems, some ring rust, and adjustment to the new cage and unified rules used in the UFC were cited as some of the key culprits of Shogun’s 2 unimpressive UFC showings. But he made it all up in his next bout, where he knocked out Chuck Liddell in a fight which he showed his speed, wrestling technique, BJJ stylings, as well as his excellent Muay Thai and power. Shogun was pack and earned knockout of the night for his work.
SHOGUN ENTERTAINS
Fight of the night at UFC 93 against Mark Coleman
Knockout of the Night at UFC 97 against Chuck Liddell

SHOGUN MATH
83% of wins by TKO or KO
11% of wins by decision
6% of wins by submission