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Why Marco Ruas is

4 Time Brazilian Thai Boxing Champion
Brazilian Rio de Janeiro Boxing Champion
Brazilian Rio de Janeiro Judo Champion
Brazilian Rio de Janeiro Wrestling Champion
Undisputed Vale Tudo Brazilian Champion
Champion of The Ultimate Fighting Championship VII (UFC)
Trainer and mentor of Pedro

Welcome to the unofficial webpage of "The King of the Streets" Marco Ruas, who is in my humble opinion the most well rounded fighter in the world! Marco's track record speaks for itself. He has beaten many great fighters over the years including Oleg Taktarov, "Big Daddy" Garry Goodridge, Remco Pardoel and others. He is also the proud teacher and mentor of Pedro Rizzo, who is currently one of the top ranked heavyweights in the world!

I first saw "The King of the Streets" in the UFC VII and was very impressed by his great striking and grappling skill. In this even he defeated 4 fighters in the classic tournament mode. He had a great strategic fight against the Dutch fighter Remco Pardoel. Then for the championship he battled the 6'8" "Polar Bear" Paul Varleans. In this fight fans saw some of the best striking yet to be seen in the UFC. Marco ultimately took the big man down with a number of painful kicks to the thigh, which since then has become a big part of the stand up fight.

For those of you saw the UFC VIII you know that Marco supposedly loss to Oleg Taktarov. The fact is Marco felt he was winning the fight being that Oleg was bleeding from his head. Therefore Marco basically fought a defensive fight, preserving his energy for the more aggressive Dan "The Beast" Severn. Marco did have his revenge. He later challenged Oleg Taktarov to a NHB style fight in Brazil (Word Vale Tudo Championship 2). Oleg, fearing Marco, agreed to fight him only if he would not strike using his legs. Taktarov broke his own "rule" and began using leg strikes, naturally Marco also began to use leg strikes. The end result was a bruised and battered Oleg Taktarov after 30 minutes of Ruas' stand up fury. However, Ruas being the great sportsman that he is embraced Oleg after the fight and they put any hard feelings they had behind them. It is because of his humility and respect for his fellow fighters that I love Marco Ruas as well as his protege Pedro Rizzo.

Unfortunately for the fans of NHB fighting around the world Marco never had the chance to fight either Don Frye or Ken Shamrock during his early days in the UFC due to forces beyond his control. Marco then made his debut in the Japanese fighting organization PRIDE. It was in Pride 2 that Marco had a tough fight with the hard punching and well respected "Big Daddy" Garry Goodridge. Marco won the bout with a leg submission similar to the one on Larry Cureton in UFC VII. Marco then fought again in Pride 4. This time he faced a Japanese fighter named Alexander Otsuka. Marco was coming into the fight with an illness and fought valiantly. He almost had Otsuka in a submission attempt at the end of the first round but the bell may have saved him. Ultimately the fatigue caused by Marco's illness wore him out and the corner had to throw in the towel. To my knowledge this was his first mixed martial arts defeat.

Meanwhile in Ultimate Brazil Pedro Rizzo made his octagon debut facing the hard punching UFC vet Tank Abbott. Rizzo ultimately downed Tank with his leg kicks followed up with a sweet punch that caught Tank right in the jaw sending him to the canvas earning him the victory and putting him on the map in the UFC. As for Marco he rebounded from his loss in Japan and readied himself for his return to the octagon in UFC XXI, where he would face the legendary kickboxer and NHB fighter Maurice Smith. Marco had a very good handle on the fight until and exchange on the floor were Ruas suffered a painful knee injury. At the end of round one Marco felt he could not proceed with his injury and had to throw in the towel. I was upset as I'm sure all of you were as well, but every fighter who fights and doesn't duck opponents is bound to lose. I still love Marco and think he is the greatest fighter alive! At the age of 40 now I still think he is very capable of fighting effectively. I would love to see him fight at least one more time for himself as well as for all of his fans out there.

Currently Marco resides at California where he teaches his brand of mixed martial arts (MMA) called Ruas Vale Tudo. As I have mentioned before his number one student is the remarkable fighter Pedro Rizzo. Marco has also done training with some other great fighters including the charismatic Bas Rutten.

Please let me know who you think is the best fighter by using the poll below.

Best of the Best !!!

Well I guess thats it for now. I have been very busy with school and work and have not had the time to update this webpage on a regular basis. However, I am going to make an effort to do so. Also I am hoping that in the near future I will be able to have some type of Marco Ruas or Pedro Rizzo interview on this page ... so keep checking back!

One last thing. I get a substantial amount of e-mails asking me for contact information for Marco Ruas and his school in California. So here it is:

27231 La Paz Road, Laguna Niguel, CA, 92677, Phone: (949) 831-1866

If any of you guys join the school, check it out, or contact Marco Ruas please e-mail me at the address below and let me know how it went! One final thing I would like to say: Congratulations to Marco and family on the birth of a beautiful baby girl!

News Flash!!!

This past Sunday, November 11, 2001, Marco Ruas made his long awaited return to MMA! The event was called Ultimate Pankration and took place 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 up and comer. Early in the first round the two warriors took the fight to the mat. Almost immediately Marco caught him in a heelhook, tapping the Lambert out! Even at the age of 40 years old Marco showed us that he is still very much a contender in the MMA world! If you want to see Marco back in the UFC please e-mail DANA WHITE of ZUFFA and let him know! Alternatively you may post a message at Mixed Martial Arts. A link is provided below.