Benji “Razor” Radach (17-4), coming off a nine month layoff, jumps headfirst back into competition, squaring off with the always-dangrous Murilo “Ninja” Rua (16-8-1). There is no question how this fight will be fought, as both men are accomplished strikers who will be looking to score the knockout from the opening bell.
Murilo “Ninja” Rua is MMA’s perennial bridesmaid. A dangerous, talented striker, Rua has garnered some big wins in his career, including a unanimous decision over Brazilian Top Team founder Mario Sperry and a recent TKO over Joey Villasenor. Despite his natural gifts, though, Rua has never been able to put together the kind of quality win streak that would propel him to the top of his division. Over the years, Rua has settled into a gatekeeper role, blasting out lower level competition but always coming up just short against world-class opponents.
Benji “Razor” Radach, also a very dangerous striker, will be looking to kick the gate down and reassert himself as a top fighter. Radach’s career record, 18-4-0, is an impressive one, but he is coming off a disappointing KO loss to Matt Horwich in his last fight. A quick perusal of Radach’s knockout list makes it perfectly clear that his fists are dangerous weapons, and that he has the power and ability to be a real force inside the cage. Despite his high number of fights, however, Radach has not faced the same caliber of competition that Rua has.
Both men have dangerous standup games, clearly. On the ground, the edge probably goes to Ninja, but it is highly unlikely we will see much grappling in this one. In the end, I think Ninja’s years of losing to top competition will finally pay dividends in the form of a second round KO. Rua vs. Radach odds
