Marco Ruas is a former professional martial arts fighter and instructor. He is popularly nicknamed ‘The King of the Streets’ (Ruas actually means "Streets" in Portuguese).
. He was born January 23, 1961 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is renowned for being the official inventor of Ruas Vale Tudo, a hybrid of kickboxing and Brazilian submission fighting styles and has instructed fighters such as Renato Sobral and Pedro Rizzo.
Marco’s numerous accolades include 4 Time Brazilian Thai Boxing Champion, Brazilian Rio de Janeiro Judo Champion, Brazilian Rio de Janeiro Boxing Champion, Undisputed Vale Tudo Brazilian Champion, Brazilian Rio de Janeiro Wrestling Champion, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship VII Champion (UFC). Ruas competed in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning UFC 7 in a classic fight against 6'8", 330lb Paul Varelans. He also faced a strong opponent Oleg Taktarov in UFC's Ultimate Ultimate, but eventually lost via decision. The fact was that Marco deemed he was prevailing in the fight as Oleg was hemorrhaged from his head. Consequently Marco fundamentally resorted to a self-protective fight, conserving his dynamism for the more belligerent Dan "The Beast" Severn. Marco thrived to have his taste of revenge. He then confronted Oleg Taktarov in an NHB style clash in Brazil (part of the second Word Vale Tudo Championship). Taktarov, intimidated by Marco, approved to compete only if he would not smack using his feet. Taktarov shattered his own rule; began using leg strikes, unsurprisingly Marco launched leg strikes as well. The consequence was a battered and bruised Taktarov after half an hour of Ruas' stand up vehemence. However, Ruas being a great competitor embraced Oleg post the scrap and placed any and every hard feeling they had behind. He returned shortly to fight former heavyweight champion Maurice Smith in UFC 21, but faced defeat by discontinuing due to a knee injury. Nevertheless, Ruas is known for his formidable ground fighting techniques and his reputation as one of MMA's most challenging talents.
Marco's impressive track record speaks for itself. Marco's first recorded fight was back in 1984. He has beaten many great fighters over the years including "Big Daddy" Garry Goodridge, Remco Pardoel and others. In 2001, Marco Ruas made his long awaited return to MMA. The event was called Ultimate Pankration and was held in Las Vegas. His opponent was Jason Lambert, a very powerful, 24-year-old, 5'10", 235-pound grappler. However, Marco's ring experience proved to be too much for this upcomer. Even at the age of 40 years old Marco showed is still very much a contender in the MMA world.
Marco Ruas is the proud teacher and mentor of Pedro Rizzo, currently one of the top ranked heavyweights in the world! Marco now lives in Laguna Niguel, California and is coaching the Southern California Condors fighters in the International Fight League. |
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