Biography(references)Seeing his good skills in grappling, Moreira gave him a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and caused a commotion and controversy among his fellow Brazilians, due the rivalry between the two martial arts. In 1996 he joined the nascent World Vale Tudo Championship organized by his manager Frederico Lapenda, fighting in the superfight against UFC 3 Tournament Champion Steve Jennum in Tokyo, Japan. Ruas briefly joined the stable of Antônio "Sebastião" Lacerda, a wealthy man from the north of Brazil and self-proclaimed "Master of Death" who appeared in Rio de Janeiro in 1996 claiming to have spent a long period of time in Japan learning "the deadly art of yawara." Despite his dubious credentials, Lacerda was able to recruit some established competitors into his sect, including Ruas and Edson Carvalho, a judo national team member and a Carlson Gracie black belt. In a major upset, Otsuka fought with tenacity, taking Ruas down and performing ground-and-pound, defending a fully locked rear naked choke and forcing a TKO by medical stoppage in the second round.
Fighter Trivia(references)Ruas accepted it but requested four months to train instead of fighting right away in the gym, Gracie denied it since he would leave Brazil to the United States before that. A few of Ruas' teammates also joined in and the discussion got heated up and Hélio said "Maybe we should make a list of people who want to fight Rickson", one of the fighters who accepted the challenge was Hugo Duarte, who would have his own scraps with Gracie. A few years later, both Rickson Gracie and Marco Ruas would gain international fame, Rickson Gracie became winner of the Vale Tudo Japan tournaments in '94 and '95, and headlined Pride 1 and Pride 4, while Ruas became UFC 7 and WVC champion.
Awards & Accolades
UFC: UFC 7 Tournament Champion
UFC: Ultimate Ultimate 1995 Semi-Finalist
UFC: UFC Viewers Choice Award
World Vale Tudo Championship: WVC Superfight Championship (one time)
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