Niko Vitale Talks 'Ninja' Rua
Former Icon Sport middleweight champion and UFC star Niko Vitale is set to return at an as of yet announced event scheduled for this Spring under the “Shine Fight’s” banner.
A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Niko has his eyes set next on his opponent Murilo Rua, older brother to UFC star Mauricio Rua.
A former Pride and EliteXC veteran, ‘Ninja’ is recognized as one of the top middleweight fighters outside of the UFC and Strikeforce promotions and will serve as a stern test for the Hawaiian icon.
Niko how nearing the tail-end of his career, is looking for a few good years ahead of him and in order to do will have to put in the time and energy that is required of this sport.
“This is probably the first time (that I’ve been able to train full-time)”, said Niko while speaking with “The Fight Network”.
“I’m pretty fortunate to be able to last for this long. Not too many guys from Hawaii get to fight for ten years and I’m just fortunate to stay healthy and it’s an honor to be recognized as a pioneer in Hawaii and I just hope that I last a few more years and be able to compete in this sport.”
Though his attention is solely laid on Rua, Niko looks at the years ahead of him and realizes that he has better chances of competing against the sports elite, should he drop a weight class.
“I really want to try and concentrate on fighting ‘Ninja’ first, but if everything goes well, I want to try and get back to fighting the elite fighters again”, said Niko.
“Try to get back on top and start focusing on—I am concentrating on going down to 170 because I may have a better chance (to fight against the best) at 170 than at 185”, continued the UFC veteran.
“That’s something to think about it. My goal is to get this fight and if I do well, than hopefully try to make a run for it against some of the top fighters out there, maybe getting back into the UFC and maybe Strikeforce again.”
Niko is currently signed to a 3-fight deal with the Shine Fight’s promotion, the first fight of which will be against Murilo Rua at a middleweight bout this Spring. For more information regarding Shine Fight’s and the matchup between Niko Vitale and ‘Ninja’ Rua, please visit Shinefigts.com
