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. 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 Kevin 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. Loved by the Japanese people, Mauricio Rua got his nickname "Shogun" due to his domination in Pride. Shogun its the highest rank in the old Japanese Army.

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.

Shogun would lose the belt with his first defense when he was dominated by Jon Jones. He would bounce back with a win and also get revenge for a former loss to Forrest Griffin when won by TKO in the 1st round. He would drop his next fight to Dan Henderson in what many consider to be one of the greatest fights of all time. It was a close back and forth battle with Henderson edging him out for the decision victory. He would bounce back again with a win over Brandon Vera before losing to up and coming contender Alexander Gustaffson.

Shogun was scheduled to face off against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a rematch at UFC 161 however a Nogueira injury would put the bout off. Shogun was instead moved to the UFX on Fox Sports 1 card where he would face Chael Sonnen in the main event. Shogun would lose by submission in the first round marking the first time in his long career that he would lose back to back fights. He would follow that up with a win over James Te Huna at Fight Night 33 and also earn Knockout of the Night for his first round finish. His next fight would be a rematch against Dan Henderson. After a very impressive start in the first 2 rounds that saw Shogun almost finish Henderson he would get caught in the 3rd round and finished. He would at least earn Fight of the Night for his performance.