Maurício Rua (27-14-1, 22) was born in Curitiba, Brazil on November 25, 1981. At the age of 20 years on November 8, 2002, he made his professional MMA debut against Rafael Freitas, winning the fight via 1st-round KO.
On September 22, 2007, 25-year old Maurício Rua made his UFC debut on his 19th professional MMA fight at UFC 76 against a 28-year old Forrest Griffin but lost the fight via submission in the 3rd round.
On his 22nd career fight at 27 years old, Maurício Rua got a shot at the UFC Championship light-heavyweight titles against Lyoto Machida on October 24, 2009 but lost the fight via 5-round unanimous decision.
He became the UFC light-heavyweight champion on May 8, 2010 at age 28 on his 23rd professional MMA fight at UFC 113 after defeating a 31-year old Lyoto Machida via 1st-round KO.
Rua's last fight was a 1st-round TKO loss to Ihor Potieria at UFC 283 at age 41 on January 21, 2023. He retired on a 3-fight losing streak.
He has fought 24 times in the UFC, and has a record of 11 wins, 12 losses and 1 draw in the promotion.
Some of Maurício Rua's best fights have been against Lyoto Machida, Ricardo Arona, Chuck Liddell, James Te Huna, Forrest Griffin, Akira Shoji and Akihiro Gono.
Rua has 14 losses on his MMA record.
| # | Date | Opponent | Promotion | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
42 | Jan 21, 2023 41 years, 1 months 27-14-1 (22) | Ihor Potieria | UFC | LHW | 1 | TKO | LOSS Punches |
41  | May 7, 2022 40 years, 5 months 27-13-1 (22) | 39 years 25-16 (18) | UFC | LHW | 3 | SD | LOSS |
40  | Nov 21, 2020 38 years, 11 months 27-12-1 (22) | 32 years, 11 months 13-4-1 (13) | UFC | LHW | 2 | TKO | LOSS Submission to punches |
39  | Jul 26, 2020 38 years, 8 months 27-11-1 (22) | 44 years, 1 months 23-9 (13) | UFC | LHW | 3 | SD | WIN |
38 | Nov 16, 2019 37 years, 11 months 26-11-1 (22) | 31 years, 11 months 12-4 (12) | UFC | LHW | 3 | UD | DRAW Split |
37  | Dec 2, 2018 37 years 26-11 (22) | 27 years, 2 months 7-2 (7) | UFC | LHW | 3 | TKO | WIN Punches |
36  | Jul 22, 2018 36 years, 7 months 25-11 (21) | 29 years, 11 months 30-13 (28) | UFC | LHW | 1 | KO | LOSS Elbow |
35  | Mar 11, 2017 35 years, 3 months 25-10 (21) | 31 years, 6 months 15-7 (12) | UFC | LHW | 3 | TKO | WIN Punches |
34  | May 14, 2016 34 years, 5 months 24-10 (20) | 26 years, 7 months 8-1 (3) | UFC | LHW | 3 | SD | WIN |
33 | Aug 1, 2015 33 years, 8 months 23-10 (20) | 39 years, 1 months 21-6 (11) | UFC | LHW | 3 | UD | WIN |
32 | Nov 8, 2014 32 years, 11 months 22-10 (20) | 31 years, 7 months 16-6 (11) | UFC | LHW | 1 | KO | LOSS Punches |
31  | Mar 23, 2014 32 years, 3 months 22-9 (20) | 43 years, 6 months 29-11 (14) | UFC | LHW | 3 | TKO | LOSS Punches |
30  | Dec 7, 2013 32 years 22-8 (20) | 32 years, 2 months 16-6 (13) | UFC | LHW | 1 | KO | WIN Punch |
29  | Aug 17, 2013 31 years, 8 months 21-8 (19) | 36 years, 4 months 28-13-1 (11) | UFC | LHW | 1 | SUB | LOSS Guillotine choke |
28  | Dec 8, 2012 31 years 21-7 (19) | 25 years, 10 months 14-1 (12) | UFC | LHW | 3 | UD | LOSS |
27  | Aug 4, 2012 30 years, 8 months 21-6 (19) | 34 years, 9 months 12-5 (8) | UFC | LHW | 4 | TKO | WIN Punches |
26 | Nov 19, 2011 29 years, 11 months 20-6 (18) | 41 years, 2 months 28-8 (14) | UFC | LHW | 5 | UD | LOSS |
25  | Aug 27, 2011 29 years, 9 months 20-5 (18) | 32 years, 1 months 18-6 (10) | UFC | LHW | 1 | KO | WIN Punches |
24  | Mar 19, 2011 29 years, 3 months 19-5 (17) | 23 years, 8 months 12-1 (10) | UFC | LHW | 3 | TKO | LOSS Punches and knees Lost UFC light-heavyweight title |
23  | May 8, 2010 28 years, 5 months 19-4 (17) | 31 years, 11 months 16-0 (7) | UFC | LHW | 1 | KO | WIN Punches Won UFC light-heavyweight title |
22 | Oct 24, 2009 27 years, 10 months 18-4 (16) | 31 years, 4 months 15-0 (7) | UFC | LHW | 5 | UD | LOSS For UFC light-heavyweight title |
21  | Apr 18, 2009 27 years, 4 months 18-3 (16) | 39 years, 4 months 21-6 (14) | UFC | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches |
20  | Jan 17, 2009 27 years, 1 months 17-3 (15) | 44 years 15-8 (12) | UFC | MD | 3 | TKO | WIN Punches |
19 | Sep 22, 2007 25 years, 9 months 16-3 (14) | 28 years, 2 months 14-4 (9) | UFC | MD | 3 | SUB | LOSS Rear-naked choke |
18  | Feb 24, 2007 25 years, 2 months 16-2 (14) | 26 years, 9 months 24-9 (23) | MD | 1 | KO | WIN Punches | |
17  | Dec 31, 2006 25 years, 1 months 15-2 (13) | 27 years, 5 months 11-5 (4) | MD | 3 | UD | WIN | |
16  | Oct 21, 2006 24 years, 10 months 14-2 (13) | 35 years, 2 months 16-11 (9) | MD | 1 | SUB | WIN Kneebar | |
15  | Sep 10, 2006 24 years, 9 months 13-2 (12) | 32 years, 11 months 10-5-1 (8) | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Stomps | |
14 | Feb 26, 2006 24 years, 3 months 12-2 (11) | 41 years, 2 months 14-7 (11) | HW | 1 | TKO | LOSS Broken arm | |
13  | Aug 28, 2005 23 years, 9 months 12-1 (11) | 27 years, 1 months 12-2 (4) | MD | 1 | KO | WIN Punches | |
12 | Aug 28, 2005 23 years, 9 months 11-1 (10) | 25 years, 3 months 21-5 (21) | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | |
11 | Jun 26, 2005 23 years, 7 months 10-1 (9) | 29 years 11-1 (4) | MD | 3 | UD | WIN | |
10  | Apr 23, 2005 23 years, 4 months 9-1 (9) | 26 years, 10 months 22-5 (17) | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Soccer kicks | |
9  | Feb 20, 2005 23 years, 2 months 8-1 (8) | 34 years, 4 months 17-12-1 (10) | LHW | 1 | TKO | WIN Stomp | |
8  | Oct 14, 2004 22 years, 10 months 7-1 (7) | 29 years, 11 months 19-12-2 (13) | LHW | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | |
7  | Feb 15, 2004 22 years, 2 months 6-1 (6) | 29 years, 4 months 20-9-7 (9) | LHW | 1 | TKO | WIN Soccer kicks | |
6  | Oct 5, 2003 21 years, 10 months 5-1 (5) | 29 years, 8 months 11-8-5 (6) | LHW | 1 | KO | WIN Punches | |
5  | Sep 6, 2003 21 years, 9 months 4-1 (4) | 27 years, 11 months 22-6 (13) | LHW | 3 | SUB | LOSS Guillotine choke | |
4 | Sep 6, 2003 21 years, 9 months 4-0 (4) | Erik Wanderley | LHW | 2 | TKO | WIN Punches | |
3  | Aug 1, 2003 21 years, 8 months 3-0 (3) | 25 years, 7 months 7-3 (7) | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | ||
2 | May 16, 2003 21 years, 5 months 2-0 (2) | Angelo de Oliveira | 1 | TKO | WIN Soccer kicks | ||
1 | Nov 8, 2002 20 years, 11 months 1-0 (1) | Rafael Freitas | 1 | KO | WIN Kick |
