Marco Ruas was born on January 23, 1961 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He started his fighting career in Luta Livre as early as 1984 where he fought to a draw against Fernando Pinduka. Ruas revolutionized fighting by being one of the first to combine striking and grappling in MMA, at a time when competitors were generally representing a single martial art.
Ruas’s lineage in various arts is formidable.
Luta Livre (7th degree black belt)
Roberto Leitão Sr. → João Ricardo N. de Almeida → Marco Ruas
Roberto Leitão Sr. → Marco Ruas
Muay Thai (Master)
Nelio Naja → Luiz Alves → Marco Ruas
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (1st degree black belt)
•Carlos Gracie Sr. → Helio Gracie → Francisco Mansur → Joe Moreira → Marco Ruas
•Carlos Gracie Sr. → Reyson Gracie → Osvaldo Alves → Marco Ruas
Judo (1st degree black belt)
Jigoro Kano → Soshihiro Satake → Vinícius Ruas → Marco Ruas[12]
Capoeira (Master – Red and White Cord)
Mestre Bimba → Mestre Camisa → Marco Ruas
Taekwondo (1st degree black belt)
Lineage uncertain
Using this well-balanced attack. Ruas won the UFC 7 tournament on September 8, 1995. Ruas beat his first two opponents by submission, and faced Paul Varelans in the finals. During this fight Ruas showed the fighting world how effective leg kicks can be. He crippled Varelan’s lead leg throughout the bout and won by technical knockout.
Ruas is the the founder of Ruas Vale Tudo, a hybrid of Luta Livre and Muay Thai. In addition to his legendary striking skills, Ruas has a black belt in Luta Livre, and was awarded a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu by Joe Moreira. He also has a background in “the other Brazilian martial art” – Capoeira.
Ruas proved to be as great a teacher as he was a fighter, and has produced a large number of champions, including Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Pedro Rizzo, and Debi Purcell.
Ruas had his last fight, a rematch with Mo Smith, some 33 years after his debut.
He currently runs Ruas Martial Arts in Aliso Viejo, California.
His nickname “The King of the Streets” is not nearly as aggressive as it sounds (Ruas actually means “streets” in Portuguese 🙂
