Murilo “Ninja” Rua Announces Retirement

Monday, May 23, 2011

By FCF Staff

Following his knockout loss to BAMMA middleweight champ Tom Waton Saturday in London, England, Murilo “Ninja” Rua has announced his retirement from the sport. The 31 year-old-veteran made the announcement via his official Twitter account.

I would like to announce officially my retirement from PRO MMA fights tonight. It was an amazing run, and its a very tough moment

Its time now to help others and enjoy my family, my wife, my kids and move one. I want to thank so much all the fans for all the support

I will continue to work with MMA,doing seminars, eaching classes, training fighters,and doing my share to help our sport that I love so much

But there comes a time for all in life, and it's time to move on. I am proud of all I did in MMA and all experiences I had.

The loss to Watson was Rua’s second in a row, as the Brazilian lost by unanimous decision to Roy Boughton at a W-1 event in October, ending the former Chute Boxe competitor’s four fight winning streak.

During Rua’s (20-12-1) ten year plus career, the well travelled vet fought some of the sport’s more noteworthy fighters, including Dan Henderson, Quinton Jackson, Denis Kang, Sergei Kharitonov, Robbie Lawler, Kevin Randleman, Ricardo Arona and Paulo Filho.

After making his pro debut in May, 2000, Rua went on to compete for several prominent organizations including Pride, Elite XC, Cage Rage, Dream and Strikeforce.

Rua (left) during his bout with Boughton