Current UFC fans know Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as the foil for Lyoto Machida and as one of the fighters to push Chuck Liddell into retirement. He has often been described as a deadly striker and one of the best in the world, but his record in the UFC has been a pedestrian 4-3 (but one bad decision away from 5-2). While the killer instinct is still there, his knees are not and fans are instead treated to a solid light heavyweight instead of the beast that was advertised upon his arrival to the UFC in 2007. For people who want to see that they need to go back to the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix, when Shogun Rua was the most lethal fighter on the planet.
One of the greatest things about PRIDE FC was their annual tournaments. It started in 2000 with the Heavyweight Grand Prix won by Mark Coleman and became even more popular with the 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix won by Wanderlei Silva. With the 2003 tournament being such a success, in 2005 PRIDE went back to the middleweight (205 lbs.) division for that year’s Grand Prix. This year’s incarnation featured top name fighters such as PRIDE Middleweight Champion and reigning Grand Prix winner Wanderlei Silva, his blood rival Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Dan Henderson, Ricardo Arona, Alistair Overeem, the UFC’s Vitor Belfort, and the upstart Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. While Silva was the top dog in the division at the time, his 24 year old Chute Boxe teammate Rua was ripping through the ranks and a lot of the pre-tournament hype centered on a potential fight between these two. For that to happen, both men would have to make it through some fierce competition and advance to the finals of the Grand Prix.
Shogun’s first opponent was Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who was coming off a controversial split decision loss to Shogun’s brother Murilo “Ninja” Rua and a vicious second round knock out loss to Silva in his second attempt to claim the Middleweight Title. It would not take two rounds for Rampage to meet the same fate against Shogun. From the onset, Rua unloaded with punches and vicious Muay Thai kicks that broke Jackson’s ribs early in the fight. After about four minutes of fighting Rampage was curled up in the corner of the ring, where he ate multiple soccer kicks to the face and chest before the referee put a stop to the fight. Never before had Rampage been beaten so violently and so easily. At the time, it was the biggest win of Shogun’s young career and it established him as a force to be reckoned with.
If the Jackson fight showed that Shogun’s striking was effective against even top level wrestlers, his next fight showed his stamina, ability to withstand punishment, and mix up his offense in a fight. Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira was also undefeated in PRIDE heading into this second round match with Shogun. His opening opponent was the dangerous Dan Henderson, who he submitted by an armbar in the first round. The battle between Rua and Nogueira would be not only the best fight of the entire Grand Prix, but one of the greatest brawls of all time.
The first round of this fight is arguably the greatest first round in the history of MMA. It marked the first time Shogun had ever been knocked down, coming after a hard right from Minotoro. Shogun unveiled an ability to utilize clinch takedowns, which he did throughout the fight. Once he got Minotoro on the ground, he attempted his vaunted foot stomps and soccer kicks, which Nogueira was able to somehow withstand. After three rounds of back and forth action that saw both men rocked by massive blows, takedowns, and submission attempts and escapes, Shogun Rua advanced with a unanimous decision victory.
After the hard fought victory over Nogueira, Rua faced a new test in the 6’5” monster Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem. Overeem had decisively won his fights against Vitor Belfort and Igor Vovchanchyn by utilizing the guillotine choke in the first round in both. With his submission skills and highly regarded kickboxing, Overeem came into this fight looking like a worldbeater. Unfortunately for Overeem, his dominating run came to an end. Shogun withstood the early offense from the Demolition Man with little damage before he unleashed a barrage of strikes. It culminated with Rua sitting on top of Overeem’s chest unloading hammerfists to the face. It prompted a TKO stoppage at 6:42 of the first round. Rua advanced to the finals of the Grand Prix that took place that same night.
His opponent was Ricardo Arona, who earlier that night defeated Wanderlei Silva by decision. It was Silva’s first loss at 205 lbs. in nearly six years and it only served to highlight the Brazilian rivalry between Silva and Rua’s Chute Boxe camp and Arona’s Brazilian Top Team. Despite Silva’s stunning defeat, the night would still belong to Chute Boxe. Arona, like most of Brazilian Top Team, was known for his strong jiu jitsu and grappling. Striking was by far the worst part of his game. Unfortunately for Arona, his fight with Shogun ended up being a stand-up affair. Rua dispatched him in brutal fashion, knocking him out in less than three minutes.
His run through this tournament and continued success in PRIDE over the next two years is the main reason that Rua was considered the top light heavyweight in the world when he came to the UFC. Despite the injuries that have robbed him of the explosiveness he contained during his PRIDE run, Shogun remains a tough out and owner of the best finishing skills of any fighter not named Anderson Silva. At UFC 139 we’ll see if he can put those talents to use one more time when he takes on the always difficult Dan Henderson.
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