A perfect storm of MMA: Shogun, the Ronin, Andre Dida, Mauricio Veio and Xande Ribeiro at Toronto BJJ

My club, Toronto BJJ, hosted a Muay Thai grading this evening which was attended by UFC fighter Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, BJJ world champ and Sengoku fighter Xande Ribeiro, former UFC welterweight champ Carlos “The Ronin” Newton, Shogun’s striking coach and DREAM and K-1 fighter Andre Dida and Dida’s brother, Mauricio Veio, who is the head Muay Thai instructor at Toronto BJJ. It was incredible night, with more than 100 students being graded. I wonder if having fighters like Shogun and Newton watching them made it any more stressful. Anyway, I nabbed all the special guests for some interviews that I will be posting soon, including Shogun’s thoughts on his rematch with Lyoto Machida, Dida’s return to K-1, Xande on helping Diego Sanchez train for BJ Penn and Newton’s thoughts on returning to the octagon.