Recently ChokeHimOut had a chance to catch up with Murilo "Ninja" Rua and talked with him about what he's been up to. Murilo told us about his toughest opponent, his separation from Chute Boxe and what his future plans are...

C.H.O: You made your debut in Pride in 2001. Since then you have fought some tough opponents. Who would you consider to have been your
toughest opponent thus far and why?

MR: I think I fought with a lot of tough opponents and I always tried to do my best, winning or losing. I always tried to give the fans a great spectacle, and I think my toughest opponent was Sergei Kharitonov, because I was fighting above my weight class, and he was very tall and hit very hard. But this is all in the past now, and we have to move forward.

C.H.O: Recently you and your brother Mauricio Shogun Rua left Chute Boxe. What was the deciding factor for leaving Chute Boxe and do you have any regrets?

MR: No, we don't have any regrets or hard feelings, we just picked a path where we could walk with our own legs and move forward. We have great respect for Chute Boxe and wish them the best.

C.H.O: Do you still train or have contact with Wanderlei Silva?

MR: We haven't been in touch for a while, as he is living in the USA now, but we're still friends.

C.H.O: Currently your brother Mauricio is fighting for the UFC. Have you thought about coming to the UFC?

MR: The UFC is a big show, no question about it, and every fighter wants to be part of big shows. However, EliteXC is also a big show and I'm very happy of being part of that organization. Right now I'm committed to giving my best to EliteXC, but in the future who knows? Both are great shows and it's a honor to fight in any of them.

C.H.O: At this point the 185 lbs division is stacked throughout all of the MMA world. Besides yourself, who do you consider to be the best 185 in all of the fight organizations right now?

MR: As you said there are many great fighters in the world at 185lbs. A lot of 205lbs fighters went down in weight, and even some 170lbs went up, so competition is tough! But I would say Anderson Silva is currently the best 185lbs fighter in the world.

C.H.O: Are you going to stay in the middleweight division?

MR: Yes, I plan on staying in the weight class. I have been adapting better to the weight now, and it took me a while to do it, so there's
no sense in moving up again now.

C.H.O: If you could fight anyone at this time, who would it be?

MR: As I always say, I'm a professional fighter so I fight anyone that the promoters and my team thinks is a good opponent, so I don't have any preferences.

C.H.O: Your coming off a win at Cage Rage 24, what's next for you?

MR: I believe and I hope that my next step in Cage Rage would be to fight for the 185lbs belt, as I think I already deserve a shot at that belt, and I hope Cage Rage will give me that chance. Before that, however, I'm fighting for EliteXC in Hawaii on June 14th.

C.H.O: Anything you want to add for your fans including your website link?

MR: I would like to thank all fighting fans for the support and say that I train very hard and dedicate myself the most to give them a great spectacle, every time I fight. I would also want to thank my sponsors, Rockstar Energy Drink, Midway Labs supplements, and Koral Fight Co. and invite everybody to check out my website at

muriloninja.com






Article by Tuesday on May 09, 2008

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