Murilo Milani Rua (; born May 22, 1980), also known as Ninja, is a Brazilian retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. He is the older brother of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio Rua. He was the inaugural EliteXC Middleweight Champion and also competed in

Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

Mixed martial arts career

Rua started his career at Chute Boxe Academy in

Curitiba, Brazil Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

, a

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

training group which has produced champions like

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

. Ninja's first foray into MMA was with

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian-based Meca World Vale Tudo, where he amassed an impressive 5–0–1 record before signing with

. Ninja made his

PRIDE Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

debut against

Daijiro Matsui is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor since 1998, he has competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, DEEP, Pancrase, and King of the Cage. As a professional wrestler, Matsui ...

in September 2001, which he won via referee stoppage after repeated kicks and stomps. After losing a close decision to

Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American former 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 ...

, Rua went on to defeat Alex Andrade, and Alexander Otsuka. Rua was scheduled to fight for the Meca Middleweight (205 lb) title vs Jorge Navalhada, but was injured, and could not fight for the title. After returning from injury, he defeated

Mario Sperry Mario (; ) is a character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. ...

, and this fueled beginning of the long lasting rivalry between Chute Boxe and Brazilian Top Team. Rua lost to

Ricardo Arona Ricardo Arona (; born 17 July 1978) is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist, submission grappler and 4th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt practitioner. A two-time World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu champion in the lower belts ...

in a close battle of attrition, and Sergei Kharitonov in the '' Pride Total Elimination 2004'', where he fought as a

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

, suffering a brutal knockout loss. At '' Pride 29'', Rua faced

Quinton Jackson Quinton Ramone Jackson (born June 20, 1978), known by his ring name of Rampage Jackson, is an American rapper, former mixed martial artist, actor, kickboxer, and professional wrestler. During the course of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, ...

. Rua lost the fight by split decision which was controversial. Jackson was noticeably confused 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 Rua had won the fight. Rua fought three more times in Pride, defeating newcomer Murad Chunkaiev before dropping a lacklustre decision against top ranked

Paulo Filho Paulo Filho (; born May 24, 1978), is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist who last competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor from 2000 until 2014, Filho was the last WEC Middleweight Champion, and also comp ...

. Nevertheless, Rua was selected as part of the Pride welterweight (185 pound) Grand Prix. In the opening bracket, however, he was knocked out by

Denis Kang Denis Kang (, born September 17, 1977) is a retired Canadian professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 1998, Kang has formerly competed for the UFC, PRIDE, DREAM, ...

. Rua then left Pride for a tenure with British MMA promotion Cage Rage in order to strengthen the tie between the two promotions. His first bout, against English UFC veteran Mark Weir, resulted in a victory by submission after a rough and tumble affair. He also defeated Alex Reid via doctor stoppage before the newly created

EliteXC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States–based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decem ...

organization purchased Cage Rage, therefore he fought for the vacant Elite XC middleweight at '' Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni'' against Greg Jackson trained Joey Villasenor and recorded a second-round TKO, stopping Villasenor with strikes. After three months as the champion, his first title defense came to ICON sport middleweight champion

Robbie Lawler Robert Glenn Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed between 2001 and 2023. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in ...

. Despite narrowly winning the first two rounds, an exhausted Ninja 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 Rua and his brother Mauricio had left the Chute Boxe camp with plans to open up their own facility in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. 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. Rua was initially scheduled to fight

Phil Baroni Philip George Baroni (April 16, 1976) is an American former mixed martial artist, kickboxer, boxer, and professional wrestler. Baroni competed in the UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, Cage Rage, DREAM, EliteXC, Bellator MMA, Titan FC, Palace Fi ...

on the May 31, 2008, EliteXC card, however, he suffered a minor foot injury which led him to fight on the June 14 card instead, where he recorded a dominant KO victory over undefeated Tony Bonello. On October 4, 2008, Rua was defeated by Benji Radach on a live CBS broadcast. Radach finished the fight with punches to Rua's head after a failed flying knee sent him sprawling on his back. Rua made his

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...

debut at '' Dream 8'' against

Riki Fukuda , is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, he has formerly competed for the UFC, EliteXC, DEEP, DREAM, K-1 (MMA), Shooto, and Pancrase. Currently, he runs an izakay ...

on April 5, 2009. His original opponent was supposed to be Dong Sik Yoon but Dong was injured and Riki was found as a late replacement. Rua went on to lose against Riki by unanimous decision. After winning both of his latest bouts at ''Bitetti Combat MMA 4'' and ''Bitetti Combat MMA 5'' in the Light heavyweight division, Rua hinted that he will continue fighting at 205 lb. Rua was supposed to fight Falaniko Vitale at Shine Fights 3 on May 15, 2010. The middleweight bout between Falaniko Vitale and Rua, previously announced for Shine Fights ''Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas'', was scrapped due to an injury sustained by Vitale. Rua was planning to participate in '' Dream 14'', though that event being rescheduled led to other plans. Rua beat Jeremy May on July 18, 2010, at Impact Fighting Championships by submission via guillotine choke. Rua lost to Cesar Gracie product Roy Boughton via unanimous decision on . Boughton missed weight by 5.5 lbs. "Ninja" fought Tom Watson for the BAMMA Middleweight Title on May 21, 2011. The fight proved to be a one sided affair, with Rua being rocked several times throughout the fight, as well as being visibly hurt with leg kicks. The end came at 2:06 of the third round after Watson stunned Rua with a head kick and followed up with strikes until the referee stepped in to save the unconscious Rua. After Rua lost against Tom Watson, he said he would not continue fighting and would retire. Rua is now set to come out of retirement to fight a rematch against

Pride FC PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

vet and former World Extreme Cage Fighting middleweight champion

. The two originally met at Pride Bushido 10 where

won by unanimous decision after three rounds. Rua once again lost to Filho by yet another controversial referee stoppage by Mario Yamasaki. Filho landed a strong combination which rocked Rua, forcing him to shoot for a single leg take down. Yamasaki saw this as a reason to stop the fight, and stepped in to save Rua.

Personal life

Rua and longtime girlfriend Ana married on October 8, 2004, in

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

, Brazil. The couple have two sons, born in August 2008 and March 2010.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** EliteXC Middleweight Championship (One Time, First)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 20–13–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , Best of the Best: Filho vs. Ninja II , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:47 ,

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–12–1 , Tom Watson , KO (head kick and punches) , BAMMA 6: Watson vs. Rua , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:06 , London, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–11–1 , Roy Boughton , Decision (unanimous) , W-1 New Ground , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

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Impact FC 2 Impact Fighting Championships (Impact FC) was an Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. The promotion held two of three planned events in July 2010 featuring veteran fighters of Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Champio ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:12 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 19–10–1 , Arturo Arcemendes , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Bitetti Combat MMA 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:27 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 18–10–1 , Jason Jones , TKO (punches) , Bitetti Combat MMA 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:20 ,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 17–10–1 , Alex Stiebling , KO (head kick) , Bitetti Combat MMA 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:39 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–10–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Dream 8 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–9–1 , Benji Radach , KO (punches) , EliteXC: Heat , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:31 ,

Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 97,335 at the time of the 2020 census. History Early history In ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–8–1 , Tony Bonello , KO (punches) , EliteXC: Return of the King , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:16 , Hawaii, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–8–1 , Xavier Foupa-Pokam , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Rage 24 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:47 , London, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–8–1 ,

, KO (punches) , EliteXC: Uprising , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:04 , Hawaii, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–7–1 , Joey Villaseñor , KO (punches) , Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:05 , California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–7–1 , Alex Reid , TKO (cut on the shin) , Cage Rage 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:28 , London, England , , - , Win , align=center, 12–7–1 , Mark Weir , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Cage Rage 18 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:15 , London, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–7–1 ,

, KO (punches) , Pride - Bushido 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:15 ,

Saitama, Saitama is the capital and largest Cities of Japan, city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Saitama, Urawa, Ōmiya, Saitama, Ōmiya, Yono, Saitama, Yono and Iwatsuki, Saitama, Iwatsuki. It is a Cities desig ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–6–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Pride - Bushido 10 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–5–1 , Murad Chunkaiev , Submission (heel hook) , Pride 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:31 , Saitama, Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–5–1 ,

, Decision (split) , Pride 29 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Saitama, Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4–1 , Sergei Kharitonov , KO (punches) , Pride Total Elimination 2004 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:14 , Saitama, Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3–1 , Alexander Otsuka , Submission (side choke) , Pride 27 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:25 ,

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3–1 ,

Akira Shoji Akira Shoji (小路晃) (born January 31, 1974) is a retired Japanese mixed martial arts, 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 Pri ...

, KO (flying knee) , Pride Shockwave 2003 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:24 , Saitama, Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3–1 ,

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

, TKO (cut) , Pride 24 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:20 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Pride 23 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Pride 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1–1 , Alex Andrade , Decision (unanimous) , Pride 18 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Fukuoka, Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. The area has long been considered th ...

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

, Decision (split) ,

Pride 17 The year 2001 was the 5th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2001 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 13 - Collision Course''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters T ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0–1 ,

, TKO (soccer kicks and stomps) ,

Pride 16 The year 2001 was the 5th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2001 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 13 - Collision Course''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters T ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:51 , Osaka, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0–1 , Rogerio Sagate , Submission (keylock) , Meca World Vale Tudo 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:54 ,

, Brazil , , - , Draw , align=center, 4–0–1 , Akihiro Gono , Draw (majority) , Shooto - To The Top 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Leopoldo Serao , TKO (cuts) , Meca World Vale Tudo 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:00 , Curitiba, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Luiz Claudio das Dores , TKO (submission to leg kicks) , Meca World Vale Tudo 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:00 , Curitiba, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Israel Albuquerque , TKO (submission to punches) , Meca World Vale Tudo 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:36 , Curitiba, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Adriano Verdelli , Submission (triangle choke) , Meca World Vale Tudo 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:08 , Curitiba, Brazil ,

References

External links

*
Murilo Rua's ProElite.com ProfileMurilo Rua's EliteXC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rua, Murilo 1980 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Light 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 male Muay Thai practitioners Martial artists from Curitiba 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen