Maurício Milani Rua (; born 25 November 1981), also known as Shogun, is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist and former model. He competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2002, Rua is also the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion. Background Rua was born on 25 November 1981 and raised in Curitiba, Brazil and is of Italian, and Portuguese descent. Rua's father is a businessman and his mother is a former track athlete and, as of 2005, a marathon runner. He has an older brother, Murilo (nicknamed Ninja, born 1980), and a younger brother, Marcos (nicknamed Shaolin). Both are mixed martial artists training at Universidade da luta, though Marcos does not compete at a professional level. The Rua brothers occasionally take 10-kilometre runs with their mother. Rua began training in Muay Thai at the age of 15 and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 17. Rua followed his older brother in training at the Chute Boxe Academy, and was successful in BJJ championships at the blue and purple belt levels. In addition to Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, by 2007 he was also training wrestling and boxing. Mixed martial arts career Early career Rua started his professional career at vale tudo events in Brazil, achieving three stoppages due to strikes, including a win over future Chute Boxe Academy teammate Evangelista Santos. In a fast-paced bout, Santos matched Rua on the feet until Rua took Santos to the ground and forced a stoppage due to strikes from mount. Shogun then entered the International Fighting Championships's (IFC) Global Domination Tournament. Rua won his first bout against Erik Wanderlei due to punches, and in the second bout got the first submission loss of his career against Renato Sobral with a guillotine in the third round. PRIDE Fighting Championship PRIDE Debut, Bushido and PRIDE 29 Following his victory in the IFC tournament, Shogun made his way to Japan to enter the PRIDE organization. He made his PRIDE debut at the inaugural PRIDE Bushido 1, a side promotion for lighter fighters. In his three Bushido appearances, Rua defeated Akira Shoji, Akihiro Gono, and Yasuhito Namekawa, all by strikes in the first round. Rua graduated to his debut in a main PRIDE event at PRIDE 29, where he faced former professional wrestler Hiromitsu Kanehara, a Japanese fighter known