| |
 |
|
SHINE
FIGHTS OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES BOUT BETWEEN
MURILO "NINJA" RUA AND FALANIKO "NIKO" VITALE
Fight Will Take Place at Shine Fights III
Miami, FL (USA): Shine Fights is pleased to announce the official
signing of
a bout between former world champion Murilo "Ninja" Rua (17-10-1)
and tough
Hawaiian fighter Falaniko "Niko" Vitale (26-9). The bout will take
place at
a yet-to-be announced Shine Fights III event, which is tentatively
scheduled
for spring 2010.
Ninja and Niko are both well-known to casual and hardcore MMA fans.
Rua was
a PRIDE mainstay, fighting in Japan's premier MMA organization a
total of 13
times, and his brother is UFC light heavyweight contender Mauricio
"Shogun"
Rua. Vitale is noted for his time in the UFC, where he defeated Matt
"The
Law" Lindland, as well as his experience in StrikeForce. In
addition, both
fighters share a common opponent in "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler, and
both have
battled top MMA competition. This will be a huge fight for the
combatants,
as a victory will help propel the winner towards bigger and better
fights,
while the loser will head back to the drawing board.
Born and raised in Curitiba, Brazil, Rua is the brother of UFC light
heavyweight contender Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Ninja began his career
in his
home country, running off four straight stoppage wins. His
impressive
beginning to his career earned him a call from Japan, and he soon
began to
make a name for himself as an athlete that finishes fights. After
his time
in PRIDE, Ninja moved to England's Cage Rage promotion, before
making his
way to the United States. Since then, he has competed in both
EliteXC and
StrikeForce, while still making appearances in Japan, England, and
his
native Brazil. Over the course of his nine year career, he has faced
many of
the top fighters in MMA, including PRIDE/UFC veteran Akihiro Gono,
former
PRIDE Middleweight and Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson, former
PRIDE
contenders Sergei Kharitonov and Ricardo Arona, StrikeForce fighters
Benji
Radach and Kevin Randleman, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Quinton
"Rampage" Jackson, former WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Fihlo, UFC
fighter
Denis Kang, Japanese fighter Riki Fukuda, and the aforementioned
Lawler.
Ninja has defeated notables such as Mario Sperry, Alex Stiebling,
Mark Weir,
Xavier Foupa- Pokam, and Joey Villasenor, who he beat for the
EliteXC
Welterweight Championship belt. 15 of his 17 wins have come either
KO/TKO or
submission, and he always puts on a show for the fans, win or lose.
And
Ninja expects to continue to show that in his fight with Vitale:
"I'll try
to impose my game and come out with a great win, so I can start off
[my
career with] Shine Fights in the right way. I'll always try to give
great
performances, making it for great spectacles for my fans and if God
helps,
try to win a belt, which will certainly be another great dream for
me." What
separates him from his opponent? "My pace, my cardio and my will to
enter
the cage and look for the win all the time!" And Ninja has a message
for the
fans: "I would like to first of all thank all the fans, and tell
them that
I'll be there [at Shine III], with a great appetite to seek the win
for me
and my family. I'll be even more motivated cause I'm going to be a
father
for the second time, so I need this win badly! If God helps me, this
will be
a great gift for me and my family. Finally, I want to thank Shine
Fights for
the effort of promoting our sport and giving me this chance of being
part of
it!"
Hawaii native Niko Vitale is an experienced athlete who recently
celebrated
ten years as a professional fighter. He represents the 808 Fight
Factory,
one of the toughest fight gyms on the Islands, and has fought for
some of
the most well-known promotions in the world. Fans of King of the
Cage, Rage
in the Cage, SuperBrawl, Icon Sport, the IFL, StrikeForce, and the
UFC have
all seen his skill set exhibited. As with Ninja, Niko has taken on
top names
in the sport, including Lawler, recent StrikeForce Middleweight
title
challenger Jason "Mayhem" Miller, MMA pioneer Jeremy Horn,
StrikeForce/UFC
veteran Trevor Prangley, and UFC fighter Frank Trigg. He has beaten
notable
fighters such as UFC vet Aaron Riley, former UFC Middleweight
Champion Dave
Menne, UFC middleweight contender Yushin Okami, and the
aforementioned
Lindland. And he plans on adding Ninja to his list: "We match up
well in
this fight. We have similar styles: we both like to fight on the
ground. I
haven't seen him fight on his feet all that much, but I'm sure I'm
better
there. I think I have what it takes to beat him. I'll be stronger on
the
ground, and stronger in my standup." While Vitale has respect for
his
opponent, he's ready to prove himself. "I've been waiting for a big
win over
a big opponent, and I consider Ninja to be a big-time opponent." But
for
Niko, the bottom line is putting on a show for the Shine fans.
"Expect this
fight to be really good, really explosive. We're both extremely
experienced,
and we've both knocked out and submitted guys. It's going to be a
great
fight to watch."
"MMA fans better be ready for this one," said matchmaker Ron Foster.
"Ninja
and Niko are going to throw down. There's a lot at stake here, and
we expect
fans to benefit."
If you are interested in more information regarding Shine Fights,
please
contact:
Phil Lanides, Publicist
Fight of Your Life Communications
phil@fightofyourlife.com
(408) 439-3245
http://www.fightofyourlife.com/
|
