3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Nearly everyone in the poll, myself included, ranked “Big Nog” third. When Nogueira submitted 2000 Grand Prix champion Mark Coleman at Pride 16 and then defeated Heath Herring a month later for the vacant heavyweight title at Pride 17, he ushered in a new era of heavyweight talent and skill. Tall and athletic, Nogueira could do a lot more than what one expected of BJJ virtuoso, as he was also a capable wrestler and had solid muay thai striking that would only get better over the years. Furthermore, he had a titanium chin and endless toughness, which was exemplified in his classic victory over Bob Sapp, a man who outweighed Nogueira by 150 pounds of muscle and who pile-drove his head into the canvas at one point. It looked like the beginning of an era, but within two years and after just five more wins, the most impressive being submissions of Semmy Schilt and Dan Henderson, Nogueira was shockingly and convincingly defeated by an unheralded Russian fighter from the Rings organization.
That is where things get interesting, however. While Nogueira would stay firmly as the sport’s No. 2 heavyweight behind Fedor Emelianenko, including decisively losing their rematch at Pride Shockwave 2004, his resume after losing the title is actually far more impressive than it was while being the champ. He armbarred Mirko Filipovic, choked out Heath Herring in a rematch, decisioned Sergei Kharitonov, defeated Fabricio Werdum in 2006, avenged a split decision loss to Josh Barnett by defeating him in the rematch, and finally, choked out Tim Sylvia in 2008 after going to the UFC. I was an absolutely amazing run, with only the loss to Emelianenko and split to Barnett marring 12 victories against excellent opposition. Alas, by the time of his next fight, against Frank Mir, while only 32 years old, Nogueira was already past his prime, having endured brutal punishment in over 35 professional fights. Aside from a dominant decision over similarly faded legend Randy Couture in 2009 and knocking out future professional Internet clown Brendan Schaub in 2011, the Brazilian legend's last years were more sad than anything. Still, he enjoyed over 8 years of great wins and dominance against everyone except that one, and comes in a well-deserved third on this list.
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