UFC 92 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Vs. Frank Mir?
- Thread starter Shogun Locc
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Legendary Nogueira far from finished
If there's a secret regarding the legendary durability of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), it might be his vivid memory.
The former PRIDE heavyweight champion, who has fought some of the biggest and baddest men in the sport in 37 professional fights, has never been stopped, even though he’s spent plenty of time getting pounded and been in situations often that would have stopped virtually all competitors.
Frank Mir (11-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC), who challenges Nogueira on Dec. 27 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas for the Ultimate Fighting Championship interim heavyweight title, refers to him as being like a cockroach that can’t be killed.
But at 6'3" and 242 pounds, Nogueira's got to be the biggest and most dangerous cockroach on the planet -- and based on credentials would have to be considered the second-best heavyweight in the history of the sport.
Whether he's being power-bombed on his head by 360-pound Bob Sapp, punched out by a prime Mirko "Cro Cop," knocked down repeatedly by a giant Tim Sylvia, caught in a kneebar by submission expert Josh Barnett or on the receiving end of Fedor Emelianenko for 20 solid minutes, he's always survived. And with a 31-4-1 record, with one no contest, he's usually come out on top.
How? When things get hairy, he starts thinking about what happened when he was 11 years old.
"I was at a birthday party and a truck backed up and the wheels ran over my chest," he recalls vividly. "I lost part of my lung and my liver. I was in a coma for a long time and in and out of the hospital for a year.
"For sure, when I'm in a fight and having a hard time, I think back to that time because that was the worst. No matter how bad things are, my attitude is that it's nothing compared to what happened then. Thank God I survived it."
Nogueira, nicknamed "Big Nog" because he has an identical twin brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira -- "Little Nog" -- who fights mostly in Japan, is the only man in history to capture championships in both the UFC and PRIDE. He's coming off an 11-month layoff, the longest of his career, to face Mir in a five-round championship match. The winner faces Brock Lesnar to unify the UFC heavyweight title, likely next spring.
The interim title was created after Randy Couture quit the company as heavyweight champion in late 2007. To strengthen the UFC’s legal position against Couture -- there was a clause in his contract that said as long as he held the championship he couldn't fight for another organization -- the UFC wouldn't strip him of the title.
But at the time, there appeared to be a good shot Couture would never return to the UFC, so Nogueira and Sylvia squared off on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas to create an interim champion, who at the time figured to be considered the real champion when all was said and done.
Things weren't looking good for Nogueira through the first two rounds of the fight. His left eye was nearly swollen shut. He was knocked down and losing the stand-up, unable to keep Sylvia on the ground. He lost the first two rounds. But in round three, he caught Sylvia in a guillotine and came out as champion.
Despite his Japanese fame, Nogueira was largely unknown in America when he fought Sylvia. But after three months of television exposure as a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter," fans will have more of a connection with him, and hence, it should greatly help both his popularity and marketability in an industry where Brock Lesnar and "Kimbo Slice" are huge draws -- and the best pound-for-pound fighters, Anderson Silva and Emelianenko, are not.
The crowd reaction at the MGM Grand should be interesting. Nogueira clearly came off better than Mir on the small screen. Mir's fighters took the early edge in the first round of the competition. But when the filming of the show ended, Nogueira had three of the four finalists, and because of a bet made between them, Nogueira shaved Mir's hair on the show's final episode.
But Mir is a native of Las Vegas who was a crowd favorite even during the days he was seemingly down-and-out as a fighter after a broken leg suffered in a motorcycle accident seemed to snuff out a once-promising career.
"Eleven months off, I don't like that," said the 32-year-old Nogueira. "It makes you get out of shape. I was out of shape when I got there (to do the reality show, which started filming in late May). When I was training with the guys, I got motivated. They were all hungry and gave me great motivation to train hard."
While Nogueira lives most of the year in Florida, he went back to Brazil for his main fight preparation where he had a dozen strong training partners, then headed back to Las Vegas for last week's "The Ultimate Fighter" finals.
Nogueira is a three-and-a-half-to-one favorite in the fight, largely because if you look at the history of the two Nogueira has never been stopped and Mir usually has not looked good past the first round.
"[Mir is] strong at the beginning of the fight," said Nogueira. "He's good with armbars and leglocks. I have to be cautious early on, when he's very good. His endurance is not as good as mine and the longer the fight goes, it's better for me. He's got good kicks as well, but I've been training a lot of new things."
Come-from-behind wins are Nogueira's specialty. He was dominated by Sapp in 2002 before 71,000 fans at Tokyo National Stadium in a fight that made both men household names in Japan. Sapp picked him up and dropped him hard with a power bomb, and the stunned Nogueira took punishment on the ground for nearly 14 straight minutes before Sapp finally ran out of gas and was armbarred. He had a similar bout the next year with "Cro Cop," in a match which at the time was figured to determine who the second-best heavyweight was behind Emelianenko. "Cro Cop," the most feared striker in the sport at the time, was taking Nogueira apart with punches and kicks, and seemed to have him finished at the end of the first round.
But Nogueira took the punishment, got "Cro Cop" to the ground, and armbarred him as well.
Two of his four career losses ended up being avenged: A controversial 2000 split decision loss to a much smaller Dan Henderson was avenged in 2002 with an armbar; a 2006 split-decision loss to Josh Barnett in a fight that could have gone either way was avenged three months later with a close but solid decision victory.
His only career black marks have been to Emelianenko, who beat him by decision in 2003 to win the PRIDE heavyweight title. A rematch in 2004 ended in a no contest, when after an accidental head-butt Emelianenko suffered a deep forehead cut and the match had to be stopped. Nogueira believes he was en route to winning the fight at the time. But a third meeting, on the 2004 New Year's Eve show, saw Emelianenko win another unanimous decision.
Both losses were due to Emelianenko being able to muscle Nogueira around, as even he never came close to finishing. Because of those losses, [Nogueira] has worked harder on weights and his boxing and has gained some size, which he feels would lead to a different result if the two were to fight again.
If there's a secret regarding the legendary durability of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), it might be his vivid memory.
The former PRIDE heavyweight champion, who has fought some of the biggest and baddest men in the sport in 37 professional fights, has never been stopped, even though he’s spent plenty of time getting pounded and been in situations often that would have stopped virtually all competitors.
Frank Mir (11-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC), who challenges Nogueira on Dec. 27 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas for the Ultimate Fighting Championship interim heavyweight title, refers to him as being like a cockroach that can’t be killed.
But at 6'3" and 242 pounds, Nogueira's got to be the biggest and most dangerous cockroach on the planet -- and based on credentials would have to be considered the second-best heavyweight in the history of the sport.
Whether he's being power-bombed on his head by 360-pound Bob Sapp, punched out by a prime Mirko "Cro Cop," knocked down repeatedly by a giant Tim Sylvia, caught in a kneebar by submission expert Josh Barnett or on the receiving end of Fedor Emelianenko for 20 solid minutes, he's always survived. And with a 31-4-1 record, with one no contest, he's usually come out on top.
How? When things get hairy, he starts thinking about what happened when he was 11 years old.
"I was at a birthday party and a truck backed up and the wheels ran over my chest," he recalls vividly. "I lost part of my lung and my liver. I was in a coma for a long time and in and out of the hospital for a year.
"For sure, when I'm in a fight and having a hard time, I think back to that time because that was the worst. No matter how bad things are, my attitude is that it's nothing compared to what happened then. Thank God I survived it."
Nogueira, nicknamed "Big Nog" because he has an identical twin brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira -- "Little Nog" -- who fights mostly in Japan, is the only man in history to capture championships in both the UFC and PRIDE. He's coming off an 11-month layoff, the longest of his career, to face Mir in a five-round championship match. The winner faces Brock Lesnar to unify the UFC heavyweight title, likely next spring.
The interim title was created after Randy Couture quit the company as heavyweight champion in late 2007. To strengthen the UFC’s legal position against Couture -- there was a clause in his contract that said as long as he held the championship he couldn't fight for another organization -- the UFC wouldn't strip him of the title.
But at the time, there appeared to be a good shot Couture would never return to the UFC, so Nogueira and Sylvia squared off on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas to create an interim champion, who at the time figured to be considered the real champion when all was said and done.
Things weren't looking good for Nogueira through the first two rounds of the fight. His left eye was nearly swollen shut. He was knocked down and losing the stand-up, unable to keep Sylvia on the ground. He lost the first two rounds. But in round three, he caught Sylvia in a guillotine and came out as champion.
Despite his Japanese fame, Nogueira was largely unknown in America when he fought Sylvia. But after three months of television exposure as a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter," fans will have more of a connection with him, and hence, it should greatly help both his popularity and marketability in an industry where Brock Lesnar and "Kimbo Slice" are huge draws -- and the best pound-for-pound fighters, Anderson Silva and Emelianenko, are not.
The crowd reaction at the MGM Grand should be interesting. Nogueira clearly came off better than Mir on the small screen. Mir's fighters took the early edge in the first round of the competition. But when the filming of the show ended, Nogueira had three of the four finalists, and because of a bet made between them, Nogueira shaved Mir's hair on the show's final episode.
But Mir is a native of Las Vegas who was a crowd favorite even during the days he was seemingly down-and-out as a fighter after a broken leg suffered in a motorcycle accident seemed to snuff out a once-promising career.
"Eleven months off, I don't like that," said the 32-year-old Nogueira. "It makes you get out of shape. I was out of shape when I got there (to do the reality show, which started filming in late May). When I was training with the guys, I got motivated. They were all hungry and gave me great motivation to train hard."
While Nogueira lives most of the year in Florida, he went back to Brazil for his main fight preparation where he had a dozen strong training partners, then headed back to Las Vegas for last week's "The Ultimate Fighter" finals.
Nogueira is a three-and-a-half-to-one favorite in the fight, largely because if you look at the history of the two Nogueira has never been stopped and Mir usually has not looked good past the first round.
"[Mir is] strong at the beginning of the fight," said Nogueira. "He's good with armbars and leglocks. I have to be cautious early on, when he's very good. His endurance is not as good as mine and the longer the fight goes, it's better for me. He's got good kicks as well, but I've been training a lot of new things."
Come-from-behind wins are Nogueira's specialty. He was dominated by Sapp in 2002 before 71,000 fans at Tokyo National Stadium in a fight that made both men household names in Japan. Sapp picked him up and dropped him hard with a power bomb, and the stunned Nogueira took punishment on the ground for nearly 14 straight minutes before Sapp finally ran out of gas and was armbarred. He had a similar bout the next year with "Cro Cop," in a match which at the time was figured to determine who the second-best heavyweight was behind Emelianenko. "Cro Cop," the most feared striker in the sport at the time, was taking Nogueira apart with punches and kicks, and seemed to have him finished at the end of the first round.
But Nogueira took the punishment, got "Cro Cop" to the ground, and armbarred him as well.
Two of his four career losses ended up being avenged: A controversial 2000 split decision loss to a much smaller Dan Henderson was avenged in 2002 with an armbar; a 2006 split-decision loss to Josh Barnett in a fight that could have gone either way was avenged three months later with a close but solid decision victory.
His only career black marks have been to Emelianenko, who beat him by decision in 2003 to win the PRIDE heavyweight title. A rematch in 2004 ended in a no contest, when after an accidental head-butt Emelianenko suffered a deep forehead cut and the match had to be stopped. Nogueira believes he was en route to winning the fight at the time. But a third meeting, on the 2004 New Year's Eve show, saw Emelianenko win another unanimous decision.
Both losses were due to Emelianenko being able to muscle Nogueira around, as even he never came close to finishing. Because of those losses, [Nogueira] has worked harder on weights and his boxing and has gained some size, which he feels would lead to a different result if the two were to fight again.
Nogueira: 'Ready for Everything'
videolink: http://www.sherdog.com/videos/recent/Nogueira-Ready-for-Everything-1860
Less than a week stands between interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and his title defense against Frank Mir at UFC 92 “The Ultimate 2008” on Dec. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The two men spent six weeks coaching against one another on season eight of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series. Now they prepare to meet inside the Octagon to determine who will face Brock Lesnar for the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship sometime in 2009.
Nogueira (31-4-1), who has never been finished in 36 professional bouts, believes his training camp has gone according to plan.
“I’m getting in good shape,” he told Sherdog.com in an exclusive video interview. “I’ve been training very hard. My game on the ground is very tight, my muay Thai’s getting better, [and] my boxing’s good, too.”
One of the most decorated heavyweights in mixed martial arts history, Nogueira will carry a three-fight winning streak into his showdown with Mir. The 31-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has not competed since February, when he submitted two-time heavyweight titleholder Tim Sylvia with a guillotine choke to capture the interim belt at UFC 81. Outside of Fedor Emelianenko, Nogueira has defeated every man he has faced in his storied, decade-long career, having avenged losses to both Dan Henderson and Josh Barnett.
Mir (11-3), meanwhile, has won back-to-back fights since his brutal loss to Brandon Vera at UFC 65. He welcomed Lesnar to the Octagon in February, as he weathered an early barrage from the monstrous former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar and submitted him with a first-round kneebar.
“I’ve got to pretty much be ready for everything … use my muay Thai, my ground, my wrestling,” Nogueira said.
Check out Marcelo Alonso’s full interview and see Nogueira profess his hope to finish Mir and discuss training alongside Vitor Belfort, Junior dos Santos and his twin brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, in Brazil.
videolink: http://www.sherdog.com/videos/recent/Nogueira-Ready-for-Everything-1860
Less than a week stands between interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and his title defense against Frank Mir at UFC 92 “The Ultimate 2008” on Dec. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The two men spent six weeks coaching against one another on season eight of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series. Now they prepare to meet inside the Octagon to determine who will face Brock Lesnar for the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship sometime in 2009.
Nogueira (31-4-1), who has never been finished in 36 professional bouts, believes his training camp has gone according to plan.
“I’m getting in good shape,” he told Sherdog.com in an exclusive video interview. “I’ve been training very hard. My game on the ground is very tight, my muay Thai’s getting better, [and] my boxing’s good, too.”
One of the most decorated heavyweights in mixed martial arts history, Nogueira will carry a three-fight winning streak into his showdown with Mir. The 31-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has not competed since February, when he submitted two-time heavyweight titleholder Tim Sylvia with a guillotine choke to capture the interim belt at UFC 81. Outside of Fedor Emelianenko, Nogueira has defeated every man he has faced in his storied, decade-long career, having avenged losses to both Dan Henderson and Josh Barnett.
Mir (11-3), meanwhile, has won back-to-back fights since his brutal loss to Brandon Vera at UFC 65. He welcomed Lesnar to the Octagon in February, as he weathered an early barrage from the monstrous former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar and submitted him with a first-round kneebar.
“I’ve got to pretty much be ready for everything … use my muay Thai, my ground, my wrestling,” Nogueira said.
Check out Marcelo Alonso’s full interview and see Nogueira profess his hope to finish Mir and discuss training alongside Vitor Belfort, Junior dos Santos and his twin brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, in Brazil.
Mir’s Great Challenge
The belt almost seems secondary.
Because it’s not often that Frank Mir doesn’t step onto the mat and feel that he isn’t the best there.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be a challenge though this Saturday at UFC 92. The UFC interim heavyweight champion not only matches the black belt ranking Mir earned from former trainer Ricardo Pires, Nogueira has practically written the book on the effective use of Brazilian jiu-jitsu in MMA competition.
“It’s always me going against somebody who doesn’t do jiu-jitsu. It’s always me beating the striker that doesn’t do jiu-jitsu, or the wrestler,” said Mir in an exclusive video interview. “Now I –- at 100 percent –- get to compete against someone that is better than I am at this stuff.”
It’s been a strange road back into the title picture.
At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, Mir moved more like a man half his size in his first two UFC bouts. Only 22 years old at the time, the Las Vegas native ensnared black belt Roberto Traven and Lion’s Den veteran Pete Williams in holds the audience was barely familiar with.
By the time Mir got his first shot at the heavyweight title three years later in 2004, fans should have expected the bone-breaking submission he caught Tim Sylvia with.
A motorcycle accident later that year nearly finished Mir though. A fractured femur made even the most rudimentary maneuvers, like dropping levels for takedowns, a pain-stricken struggle. It certainly made Mir’s comeback all the more difficult and a misfire against Marcio Cruz at UFC 57 in 2006 left most doubtful the former champion would ever return to form.
While this story unfolded, Noguiera (31-4-1) sculpted his legacy half away the world in Japan, thrilling crowds with his grappling prowess and unmatched resilience against every oversized monster Pride Fighting Championships could put in front of him.
Mir watched and was inspired. And another two years later, he gets the opportunity to face the man he’s studied so closely.
“He was the first guy and I was the one mimicking him in the States,” said Mir, now 11-3 in his seven-year career. “I get to see how much further I’ve evolved. Can I push past that standard? He set the bar and now I get to see where I am to it.”
In an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, Mir weighs his similarities and differences to the Brazilian fighting legend he stood opposite from as a coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 8,” and tackles the weaknesses he’s exposed in the past.
Though the winner gets a crack at UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in the new year, there is a greater award awaiting Mir if he can hang, and possibly beat the revered Nogueira at his own game.
“I don’t think I can take him any more seriously than I already have,” said Mir of his greatest challenge yet.
The belt almost seems secondary.
Because it’s not often that Frank Mir doesn’t step onto the mat and feel that he isn’t the best there.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be a challenge though this Saturday at UFC 92. The UFC interim heavyweight champion not only matches the black belt ranking Mir earned from former trainer Ricardo Pires, Nogueira has practically written the book on the effective use of Brazilian jiu-jitsu in MMA competition.
“It’s always me going against somebody who doesn’t do jiu-jitsu. It’s always me beating the striker that doesn’t do jiu-jitsu, or the wrestler,” said Mir in an exclusive video interview. “Now I –- at 100 percent –- get to compete against someone that is better than I am at this stuff.”
It’s been a strange road back into the title picture.
At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, Mir moved more like a man half his size in his first two UFC bouts. Only 22 years old at the time, the Las Vegas native ensnared black belt Roberto Traven and Lion’s Den veteran Pete Williams in holds the audience was barely familiar with.
By the time Mir got his first shot at the heavyweight title three years later in 2004, fans should have expected the bone-breaking submission he caught Tim Sylvia with.
A motorcycle accident later that year nearly finished Mir though. A fractured femur made even the most rudimentary maneuvers, like dropping levels for takedowns, a pain-stricken struggle. It certainly made Mir’s comeback all the more difficult and a misfire against Marcio Cruz at UFC 57 in 2006 left most doubtful the former champion would ever return to form.
While this story unfolded, Noguiera (31-4-1) sculpted his legacy half away the world in Japan, thrilling crowds with his grappling prowess and unmatched resilience against every oversized monster Pride Fighting Championships could put in front of him.
Mir watched and was inspired. And another two years later, he gets the opportunity to face the man he’s studied so closely.
“He was the first guy and I was the one mimicking him in the States,” said Mir, now 11-3 in his seven-year career. “I get to see how much further I’ve evolved. Can I push past that standard? He set the bar and now I get to see where I am to it.”
In an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, Mir weighs his similarities and differences to the Brazilian fighting legend he stood opposite from as a coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 8,” and tackles the weaknesses he’s exposed in the past.
Though the winner gets a crack at UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in the new year, there is a greater award awaiting Mir if he can hang, and possibly beat the revered Nogueira at his own game.
“I don’t think I can take him any more seriously than I already have,” said Mir of his greatest challenge yet.
Minotauro’s Gutsiest Performances
In Japan, they call it “samurai spirit.” “Kampfgeist” is the German equivalent. Italians refer to it as “grinta.” They all have the same meaning: heart, courage, determination, testicular fortitude. In U.S. sports history, a couple of shining examples have become permanently engraved in the collective memories of fans.
When Willis Reed limped into Madison Square Garden for game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers, it was a moment of extreme bravery and inspiration. Though he’d torn a thigh muscle just nine days earlier, Reed hobbled onto the court and scored New York’s first two baskets. He left the game soon after. The Knicks won 113-99 and delivered the first NBA title to New York City.
Three years later, Muhammad Ali fought challenger Ken Norton for 10 rounds with a broken jaw. Even though he went on to lose a split decision -- it was just the second defeat of Ali’s illustrious career -- it became another testament as to why Ali’s commonly referred to as the “greatest of all time.”
In a more recent example, then Green Bay Packers quarterback and future hall of famer Brett Favre played more than half a season with a broken thumb in 2003. He also put grief behind him, threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns and led his team to a 41-7 victory in an important road game against the Oakland Raiders just 24 hours after he learned of his father’s unexpected death.
All those moments were created by special sportsmen, who are revered by their fans and peers. Mixed martial arts has also produced an athlete who has shown more guts and more cojones than any other fighter in the sport’s brief history. His name is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, known by most as “Minotauro.”
The 32-year-old Brazilian -- who will defend his interim heavyweight championship against Frank Mir at UFC 92 this Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas -- has made a name for himself, not only for his incredible jiu-jitsu and club fighter-level boxing skills but also for his ability to take an absurd amount of punishment and author unbelievable comeback victories.
Nogueira delivered his first superhuman performance in August 2002 when he faced 400-pound behemoth Bob Sapp in front of more than 90,000 spectators at Pride “Shockwave” at Tokyo National Stadium.
The Sapp he faced then was not the complacent movie and pop music star the MMA world knows today. He was a hungry beast with raw power that was just starting to learn the game, and he was coming off three straight knockouts over K-1 World Grand Prix finalist Cyril Abidi, seven-year veteran Yoshihisa Yamamoto and Rings heavyweight champion Kiyoshi Tamura.
In their fight, Sapp outweighed Nogueira by 170 pounds -- the size of a separate welterweight fighter -- and brutally pounded him in the first 10-minute round. Minotauro had to survive a pile driver, a modified guillotine/can opener choke and vicious ground-and-pound that opened a nasty cut below his left eye.
The Brazilian’s strategy worked to perfection, however. He weathered the storm, and, in the second stanza, the gigantic former NFL offensive lineman was spent and running on fumes. At 4:03 of the second round, Nogueira isolated one of Sapp’s thigh-sized arms and secured a textbook armbar for a big comeback win. The monstrous Sapp was beaten for the first time.
The wounds from the Sapp war had barely healed when Nogueira again had to face a Goliath-like physical specimen in 6-foot-11 Semmy Schilt and two-time Olympic wrestler Dan Henderson -- the only fighter to previously defeat him -- within one month of each other. He passed both tests with flying colors, as he submitted both men with his patented triangle choke and armbar submissions.
What awaited Nogueira next was the worst beating of his career and one of the few times he was unable to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. In the first defense of his Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight title, he faced Russian fighter Fedor Emelianenko. Although Emelianenko was considered an unproven commodity at the time, with just two wins in Pride, he’d enjoyed a successful run in Rings, winning that promotion’s final two tournaments.
Fedor proved to be the antidote to Minotauro’s poison, as he defended numerous submission attempts and landed vicious punches to the face inside the Brazilian’s open guard. After a 20-minute battle of epic proportions, Emelianenko snatched the championship from Nogueira in a unanimous decision.
What most people do not know is that Minotauro fought that night with a sciatic nerve contusion. Those who have experienced that sort of injury know it causes extreme pain, from the lower backbone all the way down to the legs. Nogueira could hardly walk on his way to the arena and had to get painkiller injections in order to fight. A lesser fighter might have cancelled the bout.
The opponent who came closest to knocking out Nogueira during his stint in Pride was Croatian kickboxer Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. The two collided in November 2003 for the interim heavyweight championship after Emelianenko broke his thumb and was unable to defend his belt. “Cro Cop” carried an unbelievable amount of momentum into the bout, as he had reeled off six straight wins, four of them by first-round knockout. The former law enforcement officer had brushed aside Sapp and Heath Herring -- both former opponents of Nogueira -- and the once scary and dangerous Igor Vovchanchyn.
When the two faced off, Cro Cop controlled the stand-up exchanges, peppering Nogueira with punches and other strikes, while effortlessly stuffing the Brazilian’s takedown attempts. Filipovic’s punishing kicks to the body and head had the Brazilian bleeding from the nose early in the first round.
At the end of the first 10 minutes, Cro Cop landed his patented left high kick, which knocked down Nogueira and forced him into survival mode. Fans and experts still argue about what might have happened had Minotauro not been saved by the bell moments later.
That set the stage for another one of Nogueira’s unbelievable comebacks. Undeterred by countless unsuccessful takedown attempts in the first round, Minotauro shot in for one more double leg, which he completed. From there, Cro Cop was in his world. Filipovic was quickly mounted, softened up with punches and eventually put away with an armbar during a scramble.
Three years and eleven fights passed until the likeable Nogueira finally moved his act stateside. For his UFC debut, matchmaker Joe Silva picked Herring as the opponent. Nogueira and the “Texas Crazy Horse” had already traded leather twice inside the Pride ring, and their first encounter remains one of the best heavyweight fights of all time.
Even though Herring was an opponent he knew inside and out, things did not go as planned for Nogueira at UFC 73. The proud Texan caught him with a huge head kick that left him momentarily stunned. Herring, however, inexplicably failed to follow-up and allowed Nogueira to recover. The Brazilian outboxed and outworked him in the later rounds en route to a unanimous decision. In anyone needed more proof regarding his toughness, this was it.
Nogueira’s stiffest test took place outside of the ring, however. At age 9, he was run over by a truck while playing in the streets. The near-fatal accident left him in a coma for almost a month and cost him a rib and parts of his liver. A large scar on his lower back remains visible to this day.
During the 11 months he spent in the hospital, it appeared likely he would end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. If someone had told his family that Nogueira would overcome his injuries and go on to become one of the greatest mixed martial artists in history, they might have considered it a cruel joke.
Still, Minotauro pulled through, and, upon entering high school a couple of years later, he took up boxing and jiu-jitsu and laid the foundations for what he has become -- quite simply the gutsiest fighter in MMA.
In Japan, they call it “samurai spirit.” “Kampfgeist” is the German equivalent. Italians refer to it as “grinta.” They all have the same meaning: heart, courage, determination, testicular fortitude. In U.S. sports history, a couple of shining examples have become permanently engraved in the collective memories of fans.
When Willis Reed limped into Madison Square Garden for game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers, it was a moment of extreme bravery and inspiration. Though he’d torn a thigh muscle just nine days earlier, Reed hobbled onto the court and scored New York’s first two baskets. He left the game soon after. The Knicks won 113-99 and delivered the first NBA title to New York City.
Three years later, Muhammad Ali fought challenger Ken Norton for 10 rounds with a broken jaw. Even though he went on to lose a split decision -- it was just the second defeat of Ali’s illustrious career -- it became another testament as to why Ali’s commonly referred to as the “greatest of all time.”
In a more recent example, then Green Bay Packers quarterback and future hall of famer Brett Favre played more than half a season with a broken thumb in 2003. He also put grief behind him, threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns and led his team to a 41-7 victory in an important road game against the Oakland Raiders just 24 hours after he learned of his father’s unexpected death.
All those moments were created by special sportsmen, who are revered by their fans and peers. Mixed martial arts has also produced an athlete who has shown more guts and more cojones than any other fighter in the sport’s brief history. His name is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, known by most as “Minotauro.”
The 32-year-old Brazilian -- who will defend his interim heavyweight championship against Frank Mir at UFC 92 this Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas -- has made a name for himself, not only for his incredible jiu-jitsu and club fighter-level boxing skills but also for his ability to take an absurd amount of punishment and author unbelievable comeback victories.
Nogueira delivered his first superhuman performance in August 2002 when he faced 400-pound behemoth Bob Sapp in front of more than 90,000 spectators at Pride “Shockwave” at Tokyo National Stadium.
The Sapp he faced then was not the complacent movie and pop music star the MMA world knows today. He was a hungry beast with raw power that was just starting to learn the game, and he was coming off three straight knockouts over K-1 World Grand Prix finalist Cyril Abidi, seven-year veteran Yoshihisa Yamamoto and Rings heavyweight champion Kiyoshi Tamura.
In their fight, Sapp outweighed Nogueira by 170 pounds -- the size of a separate welterweight fighter -- and brutally pounded him in the first 10-minute round. Minotauro had to survive a pile driver, a modified guillotine/can opener choke and vicious ground-and-pound that opened a nasty cut below his left eye.
The Brazilian’s strategy worked to perfection, however. He weathered the storm, and, in the second stanza, the gigantic former NFL offensive lineman was spent and running on fumes. At 4:03 of the second round, Nogueira isolated one of Sapp’s thigh-sized arms and secured a textbook armbar for a big comeback win. The monstrous Sapp was beaten for the first time.
The wounds from the Sapp war had barely healed when Nogueira again had to face a Goliath-like physical specimen in 6-foot-11 Semmy Schilt and two-time Olympic wrestler Dan Henderson -- the only fighter to previously defeat him -- within one month of each other. He passed both tests with flying colors, as he submitted both men with his patented triangle choke and armbar submissions.
What awaited Nogueira next was the worst beating of his career and one of the few times he was unable to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. In the first defense of his Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight title, he faced Russian fighter Fedor Emelianenko. Although Emelianenko was considered an unproven commodity at the time, with just two wins in Pride, he’d enjoyed a successful run in Rings, winning that promotion’s final two tournaments.
Fedor proved to be the antidote to Minotauro’s poison, as he defended numerous submission attempts and landed vicious punches to the face inside the Brazilian’s open guard. After a 20-minute battle of epic proportions, Emelianenko snatched the championship from Nogueira in a unanimous decision.
What most people do not know is that Minotauro fought that night with a sciatic nerve contusion. Those who have experienced that sort of injury know it causes extreme pain, from the lower backbone all the way down to the legs. Nogueira could hardly walk on his way to the arena and had to get painkiller injections in order to fight. A lesser fighter might have cancelled the bout.
The opponent who came closest to knocking out Nogueira during his stint in Pride was Croatian kickboxer Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. The two collided in November 2003 for the interim heavyweight championship after Emelianenko broke his thumb and was unable to defend his belt. “Cro Cop” carried an unbelievable amount of momentum into the bout, as he had reeled off six straight wins, four of them by first-round knockout. The former law enforcement officer had brushed aside Sapp and Heath Herring -- both former opponents of Nogueira -- and the once scary and dangerous Igor Vovchanchyn.
When the two faced off, Cro Cop controlled the stand-up exchanges, peppering Nogueira with punches and other strikes, while effortlessly stuffing the Brazilian’s takedown attempts. Filipovic’s punishing kicks to the body and head had the Brazilian bleeding from the nose early in the first round.
At the end of the first 10 minutes, Cro Cop landed his patented left high kick, which knocked down Nogueira and forced him into survival mode. Fans and experts still argue about what might have happened had Minotauro not been saved by the bell moments later.
That set the stage for another one of Nogueira’s unbelievable comebacks. Undeterred by countless unsuccessful takedown attempts in the first round, Minotauro shot in for one more double leg, which he completed. From there, Cro Cop was in his world. Filipovic was quickly mounted, softened up with punches and eventually put away with an armbar during a scramble.
Three years and eleven fights passed until the likeable Nogueira finally moved his act stateside. For his UFC debut, matchmaker Joe Silva picked Herring as the opponent. Nogueira and the “Texas Crazy Horse” had already traded leather twice inside the Pride ring, and their first encounter remains one of the best heavyweight fights of all time.
Even though Herring was an opponent he knew inside and out, things did not go as planned for Nogueira at UFC 73. The proud Texan caught him with a huge head kick that left him momentarily stunned. Herring, however, inexplicably failed to follow-up and allowed Nogueira to recover. The Brazilian outboxed and outworked him in the later rounds en route to a unanimous decision. In anyone needed more proof regarding his toughness, this was it.
Nogueira’s stiffest test took place outside of the ring, however. At age 9, he was run over by a truck while playing in the streets. The near-fatal accident left him in a coma for almost a month and cost him a rib and parts of his liver. A large scar on his lower back remains visible to this day.
During the 11 months he spent in the hospital, it appeared likely he would end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. If someone had told his family that Nogueira would overcome his injuries and go on to become one of the greatest mixed martial artists in history, they might have considered it a cruel joke.
Still, Minotauro pulled through, and, upon entering high school a couple of years later, he took up boxing and jiu-jitsu and laid the foundations for what he has become -- quite simply the gutsiest fighter in MMA.
UFC 92: IN NOG, FRANK MIR IS FIGHTING HIS IDOL
Frank Mir knows as much as anyone in the MMA business that an intelligent mind can be a double-edged sword. You can talk yourself into peak performance just as quickly as you can talk yourself out of it.
Talking is what Mir loves to do. If you speak to the former UFC heavyweight champ for more than two minutes, you can tell he loves to dissect things. You can hear it when he’s commentating for World Extreme Cagefighting, or breaking down fighters on his new gig as a post-fight anchor on ESPN – a fluid, multi-leveled analysis of what’s going on in and outside of the cage. You hear it when he talks about righting himself after the oft-discussed motorcycle accident that nearly ended his career, and his struggles to get in a winning frame of mind.
At UFC 92, Mir faces his toughest challenge yet: a fight against his idol, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Before Mir was ever a famous fighter, he was watching the Brazilian’s fights. It was Nogueira’s jiu-jitsu instructional tapes that kept him on track as he learned the ground game.
Now, he’s watched Nogueira transition successfully from the rings of Japan to America’s cage, winning a UFC interim heavyweight title in the process. It’s the guy Mir will do everything in his power to stop this Saturday, and he expects the same treatment.
That’s a lot to think about for anyone, let alone a guy who’s overcome great odds to reclaim glory.
“I have the utmost respect for the guy. I think he’s a phenomenal example of what a martial artist should always strive to be,” Mir said. “During the night of the fight, I have every intention of trying to snap every bone in his body. I hope to God that I do.”
The key to the fight is both easy and hard: getting his mind to work to his advantage. Mir knows Nogueira will never quit – that’s already been proven when the former Pride champ ekes out a win in later rounds after a savage beating. It’s Mir’s mind, and soon after his body, that will fail if he doesn’t believe in himself completely. In that way, Nogueira has taught him a lesson already.
“I feel awesome about the situation, because everything that’s been going on going into this fight,” he said. ”I think the fact that I’m fighting Nogueira, who I think is one of the most dangerous guys in the world in the heavyweight division, has helped bring me up to a level I’ve never been before.
“I think my own laziness and my own evaluation of other fighters I’ve fought in the past has made me be content in my own training, knowing that I’m talented enough that if need be, I can pull it out. I realize that talent alone will not allow me to beat Nogueira. If I don’t show up at 100 percent, there’s no chance I have whatsoever, and I gotta hope that he has a bad day at the same time.”
Win or lose, Mir says a phenomenal fight will be the victory he needs. He wants to fight at his best for five straight rounds, silence critics who say he has no gas tank, and hopefully, take a step closer to being the world’s undisputed best. All the scenarios he envisions for defeat are different for his idol.
“That mentality’s not the same. I can’t sit there and say, well, eventually, he’ll make a mistake and I’ll catch him. The pace that he sets, just stick with that pace and make sure that every time he goes for a technique I have to beat him at it and go one step further. There are no opportunities for me to screw up my talent. I have to get an early lead and keep an early lead and never once make a mistake.”
Given his past connection to Nogueira, a victory will be bittersweet, but that’s something to think about afterwards.
“At the end of the fight, I tell everybody, I’ll cry either way,” Mir said. “If I beat him, I beat my hero, but at the same time, my hero lost.”
Frank Mir knows as much as anyone in the MMA business that an intelligent mind can be a double-edged sword. You can talk yourself into peak performance just as quickly as you can talk yourself out of it.
Talking is what Mir loves to do. If you speak to the former UFC heavyweight champ for more than two minutes, you can tell he loves to dissect things. You can hear it when he’s commentating for World Extreme Cagefighting, or breaking down fighters on his new gig as a post-fight anchor on ESPN – a fluid, multi-leveled analysis of what’s going on in and outside of the cage. You hear it when he talks about righting himself after the oft-discussed motorcycle accident that nearly ended his career, and his struggles to get in a winning frame of mind.
At UFC 92, Mir faces his toughest challenge yet: a fight against his idol, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Before Mir was ever a famous fighter, he was watching the Brazilian’s fights. It was Nogueira’s jiu-jitsu instructional tapes that kept him on track as he learned the ground game.
Now, he’s watched Nogueira transition successfully from the rings of Japan to America’s cage, winning a UFC interim heavyweight title in the process. It’s the guy Mir will do everything in his power to stop this Saturday, and he expects the same treatment.
That’s a lot to think about for anyone, let alone a guy who’s overcome great odds to reclaim glory.
“I have the utmost respect for the guy. I think he’s a phenomenal example of what a martial artist should always strive to be,” Mir said. “During the night of the fight, I have every intention of trying to snap every bone in his body. I hope to God that I do.”
The key to the fight is both easy and hard: getting his mind to work to his advantage. Mir knows Nogueira will never quit – that’s already been proven when the former Pride champ ekes out a win in later rounds after a savage beating. It’s Mir’s mind, and soon after his body, that will fail if he doesn’t believe in himself completely. In that way, Nogueira has taught him a lesson already.
“I feel awesome about the situation, because everything that’s been going on going into this fight,” he said. ”I think the fact that I’m fighting Nogueira, who I think is one of the most dangerous guys in the world in the heavyweight division, has helped bring me up to a level I’ve never been before.
“I think my own laziness and my own evaluation of other fighters I’ve fought in the past has made me be content in my own training, knowing that I’m talented enough that if need be, I can pull it out. I realize that talent alone will not allow me to beat Nogueira. If I don’t show up at 100 percent, there’s no chance I have whatsoever, and I gotta hope that he has a bad day at the same time.”
Win or lose, Mir says a phenomenal fight will be the victory he needs. He wants to fight at his best for five straight rounds, silence critics who say he has no gas tank, and hopefully, take a step closer to being the world’s undisputed best. All the scenarios he envisions for defeat are different for his idol.
“That mentality’s not the same. I can’t sit there and say, well, eventually, he’ll make a mistake and I’ll catch him. The pace that he sets, just stick with that pace and make sure that every time he goes for a technique I have to beat him at it and go one step further. There are no opportunities for me to screw up my talent. I have to get an early lead and keep an early lead and never once make a mistake.”
Given his past connection to Nogueira, a victory will be bittersweet, but that’s something to think about afterwards.
“At the end of the fight, I tell everybody, I’ll cry either way,” Mir said. “If I beat him, I beat my hero, but at the same time, my hero lost.”
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