By the Numbers: Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua

Mark RaymundoNov 29, 2018


After securing the first three-fight win streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Mauricio Rua looked primed for a second run toward the light heavyweight crown. But then at UFC Fight Night 134, he was stopped in his tracks by Anthony Smith.

All is not lost for the ferocious Brazilian as he looks to regain momentum when he meets Tyson Pedro at UFC Fight Night 142. He will look to stop the hometown hero at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, South Australia. As he prepares his game plan, here are some of the numbers that have come to define Shogun’s career.

6: Years old when he started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Like many kids in the Portuguese-speaking country, he was introduced to the art at a young age. A year later, he tried muay Thai for the first time.

4: Wins to start his professional career. In his third fight, he met future Chute Boxe teammate, Evangelista Santos, whom he defeated by TKO in a vale tudo event.

8: Victories without a loss was his longest winning streak. After going 4-0, he was submitted by the much more experienced Renato Sobral, which seemed to fuel his fire as Shogun then triumphed eight straight times. This includes wins over Akihiro Gono, Quinton Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona. He also won the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix.

6: Times he engaged in a rematch. Shogun is 2-0 with Nogueira, 2-0 with Overeem, 0-2 with Dan Henderson, 1-1 with Forrest Griffin, 1-1 with Lyoto Machida and 1-1 with Mark Coleman.

80: Significant strikes against Machida’s 35 in their first encounter at UFC 104. Despite the huge difference per Fightmetric’s record, Shogun lost by unanimous decision. In their rematch at UFC 113, he knocked out Machida in the opening round.

3: Rounds spent with Jon Jones, to whom he lost his UFC light heavyweight belt. Shogun was stopped at 2:37 of the third frame.

96: Significant strikes landed on Henderson in their first fight, according to Fightmetric. Shogun also scored five takedowns as opposed to one from the American. But again, Shogun fell victim to a controversial decision. Nonetheless, their bout featured an excellent display of courage and willpower from both sides, earning for themselves Sherdog Fight of the Year honors.

20: Wins by knockout. Shogun’s long list of KO and TKO victims includes a who’s who of the light heavyweight division. In the Octagon, he floored Gian Villante, James Te-Huna, Brandon Vera, Forrest Griffin, Lyoto Machida, Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman.

1: Submission victory. Widely known for his heavy hands and aggressive attacks, the black belt under Nino Schembri has tallied one tapout win, and that’s his knee bar of Kevin Randleman at Pride 32.

7: Countries fought in. Apart from his home country of Brazil and the UFC’s home base, which is the United States, he has also displayed his fighting skills in Japan, Ireland, Canada, Australia and Germany.