Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (21-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) is auctioning a pair of fight-worn gloves in the name of a Brazilian charity.

Rua autographed the gloves he used in his UFC on FOX 4 win over Brandon Vera and is hosting an auction for them at doesantacasa.org.

All money raised from the auction will go to the hospitals of Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Curitiba in Rua's native Curitiba, Brazil.

"The growth of the sport helped us to get closer to the audience of all ages," Rua stated through an interpreter. "If we all help a little, a lot can be improved."

The auction is already underway and runs through Dec. 20.

Rua is currently scheduled to face Alexander Gustafsson at next month's UFC on FOX 5 event in Seattle. It's the Brazilian's first fight since his fourth-round TKO of Vera in the headlining bout of UFC on FOX 4.

Rua, who on Sunday turns 31 years old, is a former UFC light heavyweight champion and is also a former PRIDE middleweight grand prix champion. In 2005, Rua put together one of the best calendar years in MMA history with wins over Ricardo Arona, Alistair Overeem, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson en route to his grand prix win.

Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/31740/shogun- ... pitals.mma