Shogun Rua Parts with Coach Andre Dida, Assembles New Team Ahead of UFC 161

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Former light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will work with a new team as he trains to rematch Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on June 15 at UFC 161.

Leading the squad will be head coach Glaube Feitosa, an accomplished Kyokushin karateka and former K-1 World Grand Prix finalist.

“Glaube is an excellent teacher,” Rua told Sherdog.com this week. “He can convey information very clearly, and he’s already seen my game. We have a very good sintony. I already worked with him and he’s always been very good, so the expectations are the best possible with my new coach.”

The fighter noted that he parted ways amicably with longtime friend and former head coach Andre “Dida” Amado.

Rua’s investments for his upcoming fight didn’t stop with Feitosa. Together with managers Leonardo Salomao and Lucas Pires, the 31-year-old selected experienced names from all aspects of the sport to join him in training camp, which will be held at Rua’s Universidade da Luta (UDL) in Curitiba, Parana. Among those working with Shogun will be Roberto “Gordo” Correa (jiu-jitsu), Jacob Harman, Ken Jackson and Mike Jackson (wrestling), and Daniel Abdul and Ondrej Hutnik (muay Thai). Rua’s sparring partner will be former UFC light heavyweight Luiz Cane, who faced Nogueira in November 2009.

“We had already set up the final stretch of training camp before Dida left, then we just changed the head coach,” explained Salomao. “We’ll rely on the work of Glaube to pass along his fight knowledge. The other coaches will come to Curitiba in early May, and the final preparation will be intense. Shogun will be in top shape to battle on June 15, just wait.”

Between February and March, Rua held a training camp in the U.S., where he polished his boxing skills with the help of renowned trainer Freddie Roach. While in the states, he also absorbed some American wrestling technique with Harman. He’ll continue to sharpen his wrestling with the brothers Jackson, who also coach wrestling at Cristiano Marcello’s CM System gym.

“I made the most of my training in the United States,” Shogun said. “I’m always evolving, and I’ll repeat these experiences whenever possible. Every fight, I try to be a better fighter, and that’s exactly what will happen in June.”