In this paper, we focus on the direct adaptive fuzzy control design for a class of uncertain MIMO nonlinear systems with indefinite control gain matrix and unknown control direction. The control design is based on the approximation of an unknown ideal control law that can meet the control objective by using fuzzy systems. The adjustable parameters of the used fuzzy systems are adjusted online using the error between the unknown ideal controller and the fuzzy controller. In this paper, unlike most existing works, the Nussbaum gain technique is not used to overcome the obstacle of the unknown control direction. In fact, with the help of a matrix decomposition technique, the unknown control direction is redefined as an unknown constant vector, which is estimated online by a suitable update law. The stability of the closed-loop system is studied using the Lyapunov direct approach. Numerical simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control design approach.