Murilo "Ninja" Rua (born May 22, 1980 in Curitiba, Brazil) is a mixed martial artist. He currently fights in EliteXC. He is the older brother of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He is known for his well-rounded fighting skills, in particular Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Rua is a veteran of PRIDE Fighting Championships, where he once enjoyed a reputation as one of the strongest middleweights in the world. "Ninja" fights at 185 pounds, but has also fought at 205 pounds and heavyweight. He is the former Elite XC middleweight champion and holds notable wins over Mario Sperry, Akira Shoji, Daijiro Matsui, Mark Weir,Joey Villasenor and Tony Bonello.
Biography
Murilo Rua started his career at Chute Boxe Academy in Curitiba, Brazil, a Muay Thai training group which has produced champions like Wanderlei Silva. Ninja's first foray into MMA was with Brazilian based Meca World Vale Tudo, there he amassed an impressive 5-0-1 record before signing with Pride Fighting Championships.
Ninja made his PRIDE debut against Daijiro Matsui in September of 2001, which he won via referee stoppage after repeated kicks and stomps. After losing a close decision to Dan Henderson, Rua went on to defeat such fighters as Alex Andrade, Akira Shoji, Alexander Otsuka and Mario Sperry. The latter being the beginnings of the long lasting rivalry between Chute Boxe and Brazilian Top Team. Rua lost to Ricardo Arona in a close battle of attrition, and Sergei Kharitonov in the PRIDE Total Elimination 2004, where Ninja fought as a heavyweight.
At PRIDE 29 Fists of Fire he faced Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Jackson won via a split decision that did not seem to reflect the events of the match. Jackson appeared embarrassed with the result and attempted to offer the winner's trophy to Rua following the decision. Commentators such as Mauro Ranallo and Bas Rutten, who were present at the bout, also have stated that they thought Ninja won the encounter.
Rua fought three more times in PRIDE before switching over to British MMA promotion Cage Rage. His first bout, against English UFC veteran Mark Weir, resulted in a victory by submission. He also defeated Alex Reid before capturing the vacant Elite XC middleweight belt by via a second round TKO of Joey Villasenor, knocking Villasenor down and using ground and pound. In his first title defense of the Elite XC middleweight belt, Ninja fought ICON sport middleweight champion Robbie Lawler, and was defeated via a third round TKO at EliteXC: Uprising. He rebounded with a victory over Muay Thai fighter and Cage Rage contender Xavier Foupa-Pokam at Cage Rage 24: Feel the pain.
On December 18, 2007 , Sherdog.com reported that both Murilo and his brother Mauricio Rua have left the Chute Boxe camp with plans to open up their own facility in Massachusetts. The Ruas' new camp was named Universidade da Luta which translates to "University of Fighting" and instead was opened in the Ruas' hometown of Curitiba, Brazil.
Ninja was initially scheduled to fight Phil Baroni on the May 31st EliteXC card, however, he suffered a minor foot injury which led him to fight on the June 14th card instead. His most recent fight is a KO victory over undefeated Tony Bonello.
Personal life
Murilo and his longtime girlfriend got married on October 8, 2004 in Curitiba, Brazil.[3]
Championships and accomplishments
Statistics courtesy of Wikipedia, Inc |