Murilo "Ninja" Rua Interview

Murilo "Ninja" Rua lost his EliteXC middleweight title against Robbie Lawler in September. Now, the brother of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is preparing for his next fight at Cage Rage 24. The Irish Whip got the opportunity to talk to Ninja about his upcoming fight, his brother, and much more.

Irish Whip Fighting: Your next fight is at Cage Rage 24 against Xavier Foupa-Pokam. How do you think that you will match up against him?

Murilo "Ninja" Rua: I know that he won his last fight in Cage Rage and I'm coming from a bad result in the EliteXC, but this is my opportunity to finish my year with a good result. Cage Rage promised me that if I win this fight I will have a shot for the belt early in 2008, so I'm going to win.

IWF: Do you think that you will defeat him?

Ninja: Yes, for sure, I know that the Cage Rage belt is available and I want it.

IWF: At EliteXC:Uprising, you were defeated by Robbie Lawler, although you won the first two rounds. Was Robbie different than what you trained for?

Ninja: I watched the fight again on YouTube, and I won the first two rounds but the third one was a disaster. The guy knew my game very well -- he ran from the fight on the ground [and] my jiu-jitsu was a good weapon for me. I trained my jiu-jitsu skills hard, but he knew it and used the right strategy. I trained for a stand up fight, but he has heavy hands.

IWF: Do you think that you could defeat him if you were given another shot?

Ninja: For sure. Now I'm making some wrestling training with a specialist, because it is important to improve other skills and I need more strength in my hands. We will probably meet again in the future.

IWF: Is there a difference at Chute Boxe post-Wanderlei Silva?

Ninja: No, everybody is training the same way, and new guys are coming in all the time. There's a lot of new opportunities for the team.

IWF: Can you talk a little about your fight against Rampage Jackson at PRIDE 29? Many commentators including Bas Rutten felt you won the fight.

Ninja: Yes man, I won that fight. Sometimes it is difficult to live with this when everybody comes to say that I won, but I know that we can´t change the result. It's something that some people forget about me, how many top fighters I've faced in my life.

IWF: What would you call the biggest win in your career?

Ninja: [Defeating Mario] Sperry in PRIDE. It was [a] fantastic win.

IWF: Would you ever consider a jump to the UFC?

Ninja: For sure. Right now, I'm very happy in EliteXC and Cage Rage -- they respect me a lot and I know that EliteXC has [the] potential to grow up in America and Europe.

IWF: Who do you consider the top 185-pounders?

Ninja: The results show that Anderson Silva is one of them, no doubts about that.

IWF: How do you feel you match up against the current UFC champ Anderson Silva, another Brazilian?

Ninja: I respect him, we trained together for some years. We are professionals and one day this fight can happen.

IWF: How is your brother doing? Is his knee healing?

Ninja: He´s fine, the surgery was a success, the knee is "brand new" and it is time to analyze his mistakes and look for the future. I'm sure that he will be the UFC Champion very soon -- this last defeat taught a lot to Mauricio.

IWF: Were you surprised when he lost in his UFC debut?

Ninja: Yes, I think that everybody was very surprised, but now let's move on and he will be in shape [in his] next fight, [and] focus[ed] in training and in the fights.

IWF: Why do you think that PRIDE fighters are having such a tough time transitioning into UFC?

Ninja: I don't know. I'm not sure about that -- see the example of Rampage. I think that he isn´t having tough time in there. Maybe it's the pressure of the cage, a new event, I don't know.

IWF: Your last four fights were in a cage, but before that you fought exclusively in the ring. You seem to have made a great transition from the ring to the cage by winning your first three fights in the cage. How did you adjust for the cage?

Ninja: No problem, we have an octagon here in our Academy. There are some small differences in the rules but the adjustment is simple.

IWF: How much of a role do you think that the ring/cage factor plays?

Ninja: A little. You must be well-prepared for any situation, ring or cage. The training really matters. I think that now the cage will be our playground, as the Americans and Europeans enjoy the cage.

IWF: Steroids have become a huge controversy lately in MMA. Why are some fighters taking them if they know that they can easily get caught?

Ninja: In the high-performance sports the pressure is huge to take steroids, but the results can ruin your career. In Hawaii, to my surprise, there weren't any tests. I don't know why. It is important to guarantee that both guys that get into the ring have the same opportunities.

Originally conducted for MMAMadness.com