Mauricio “Shogun” Rua began making a name for himself in MMA by defeating notable fighters Akihiro Gono and Evangelista Santos. He jumped to an impressive 8-1 record, enough to gain entrance as a dark horse into the highly prestigious Pride 2005 Middleweight (205 lbs.) Grand Prix. When he swept that tournament, “Shogun” vaulted to top of the international MMA world.

Rua’s path to the Grand Prix title was extremely impressive. He defeated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by TKO due to soccer kicks in the first round, dominating the entire proceeding, and followed that up with wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem, and Ricardo Arona (finishing the latter two by TKO) to close out the tournament. Before the collapse of Pride FC in 2007, the now acclaimed Rua continued his winning streak, defeating Kevin Randleman and Alistair Overeem (again), among others. By that time, “Shogun” was almost universally considered the best light heavyweight fighter in the world.

Rua made his long-awaited UFC debut against Forrest Griffin at UFC 76 following a pair of length and debilitating knee surgeries. Although he lost the Griffin fight by Rear Naked Choke, Rua quickly rebounded with back-to-back knockouts over Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell, and it became apparent that he had not been 100% in his early fights in the organization. Rua increasingly began to show the form that left MMA fans salivating for his return upon the collapse of Pride. He lost a close and controversial Split Decision for the title to Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida at UFC 104 in 2009 in a fight in which he looked extremely sharp and focused. And immediate rematch was called for, and “Shogun” knocked Machida out in the first round to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, dealing Machida his first pro loss and fracturing Machida's orbital bone in the process.

Known mainly for his devastating knockout victories over some of MMA’s best in Pride and the UFC, Rua is also an accomplished Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and defeated Randleman by kneebar in 2006. While he defeated many of his opponents with soccer kicks and stomps (both of which are illegal in the United States) during his run in Japan, Rua utilizes impressive ring movement, punishing leg kicks, seamless transitions, a very high work rate and uncanny striking accuracy to make him one of the most feared competitors in the light heavyweight division today.