Cage Rage 18 Preview: Murilo "Ninja" Rua Interview
by Gene Gutsalo September 26th

Murilo "Ninja" Rua will be fighting Mark Weir at the Cage Rage 18 - Battleground event in England. You can watch the event live from your computer by going to CageRage.TV

Gene: How have preperations been going for your Cage Rage 18, September 30th fight against Mark Weir?

Ninja Rua: I've been doing the same kind of preparation I do for all my fights: Muay-Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling and Vale-Tudo training sessions. Besides that, I lift weights and work on my cardio.

Gene: What are your thoughts on Mark Weir's style of fighting?

Ninja Rua: I've seen some of his fights and I think he's a good fighter. It's going to be a very good fight.

Gene: Mark Weir is from England, and has fought at Cage Rage on many occasions, how do you overcome this hometown factor that he has to his advantage (if you think there is one that is)?

Ninja Rua: I've been fighting all over the world and I'm used to fighting against people in their hometown, such as the Japanese fighters at Pride. So, I think he'll feel more pressure on himself for being from London and that can be an advantage for me.

Gene: You have fought at middleweight, light-heavyweight, and heavyweight. Which weight class do you prefer to fight at?

Ninja Rua: I like to fight. It doesn't matter the weight division. But right now, I'm focused on the middleweight.

Gene: You have fought around the world. Pride FC is holding their first show at Las Vegas in October. Are you interested in possibly fighting in the United States with Pride FC, or does another American organization interest you?

Ninja Rua: Fighting in the States would be wonderful and I let all my fighting plans on the hands of my manager and Master, Mr. Rudimar Fedrigo. He decides what's the best for me and I accept his decision.

Gene: Lets talk a bit about training, what do you think of weight training for the mma fighter?

Ninja Rua: It's very important, specially nowadays that everybody is very well prepared.

Gene: You train with some of the best including your brother Shogun Rua, and Wanderlei Silva, how have they influenced your training and fighting style?

Ninja Rua: Having them as my training partners is a bless. It makes me work even harder everyday. And of course I try to get the best of them and add to my game plan.

Gene: Looking into the future, your only 26 years-old and have already fought some of the best fighters in the world, where do you see yourself in five years, retired, still fighting, or at another profession?

Ninja Rua: As you said, I'm still very young. You guys are going to hear about me for a long time. In five years I believe I'm gonnna be even better than what I am today and I wanna be fighting. Retiring is a word that doesn't cross my mind.

Thank you to Murilo Rua, David from Cage Rage, and Augusto Oliveira for making this interview happen.