'Shogun' Rua carjacked, robbed at gunpoint by rifle-wielding men in Brazil

This is the kind of story that will make people think long and hard about their upcoming trip to Rio de Janeiro for the World Cup.

Mauricio Rua, a legendary UFC star, was robbed at gunpoint by four men wielding rifles earlier this month in the Brazilian city, his manager Eduardo Alonso told PVT in Brazil (via MMA Fighting). The ruthless criminals took almost everything -- including Rua's shoes, his shirt and his friend's car.

Rua, famously nicknamed "Shogun," was driving his friend's car on Linha Vermelha, one of the more dangerous roadways in Brazil, when he was forced to stop by the four men, all pointing rifles at him. The gunmen knew who Rua was, too.

"They said ‘I know who you are, you’re a fighter. Don’t try anything,'" Alonso told MMA Fighting. "It was a sad situation."

A shirtless, shoeless Rua had to walk with his friend to a police station one mile away in the crime-ridden neighborhood, because no one would stop to help him.

"Imagine a guy his size asking for a ride in the middle of the night," Alonso said of Rua, who fights in the UFC's light heavyweight (205 pounds) division.

Rua, 32, was coming from a dinner with Alonso and fellow UFC fighter Demian Maia. "Shogun" is from Curitiba, a city in Brazil, but he was in Rio to meet with sponsors. After dinner, he was driving back to his hotel when the incident occurred.

Rua was able to make it to the police station without any other incidents.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion is recovering from a broken nose he received in a loss to Dan Henderson at UFC Fight Night in March. "Shogun" has not yet been cleared by doctors and there is no current timetable for his return to the Octagon.