Nogueira Becomes First to Hold UFC, PRIDE Belts
Nogueira's First
Mike Sloan Feb 3, 2008
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 2 -- Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira (Pictures) made history Saturday inside the
Mandalay Bay Events Center by becoming the first mixed martial
artist to become a champion in both the UFC and PRIDE heavyweight
divisions.
"Minotauro" weathered an early scare from the large Tim Sylvia (Pictures) and wound up submitting the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion with a textbook guillotine choke early in the third round in front of 10,583 fans.
Sylvia (24-4) professed his desire before the fight to be the first
man to knock out the former PRIDE heavyweight king, and he came
within a punch or two of doing so. He cracked Nogueira early in the
first round with a right hand that sent the 31-year-old Brazilian
to the canvas.
Sylvia, also 31, pounced on his woozy foe, but once Nogueira cleared his head, the 6-foot-8 "Maine-iac" backed away and allowed his opponent to stand.
With a clear head, Nogueira slowed the pace of the fight in the second round and began out-boxing Sylvia with crafty footwork and pesky left jabs. His many takedown attempts were stuffed, but that didn't matter because the Brazilian, fighting out of Rio De Janeiro in a gym that houses the likes of Anderson Silva, was putting on a virtual boxing clinic.
Nogueira's success in the second ended when Sylvia staggered him again with a sizzling right hand. The Pat Miletich (Pictures)-trained American followed up with the same punch, but Nogueira again rode out the round.
Less than a minute into the third, Nogueira pulled guard just as Sylvia landed another right hand. With Sylvia, of Davenport, Iowa, on top, Nogueira swiftly swept him and scooted to complete side-control.
"He is a true heavyweight," Nogueira said of Sylvia. "He's a giant. I got many hard punches in this fight. I was waiting for a good opportunity to put him on the ground."
Sensing time was running out, Sylvia desperately scrambled in an attempt to return to his feet. As he did, Nogueira locked his arms around his adversary's neck and applied an arm-in guillotine. Sylvia tapped almost immediately while Nogueira applied a tremendous amount of leverage.
"I was ready for him to go to the four-points position," said Nogueira, who claimed the interim UFC heavyweight title at the 1:28 mark of the third. "When I got the first one, that's why I like [working] in combinations. Always I try one submission. If it doesn't work, the second one works."
Falling short in his bid for a third UFC heavyweight title, Sylvia acknowledged Nogueira's win as another impressive comeback.
"It's 'Minotauro' Nogueira," a stunned but respectful Sylvia said. "Every fight he's in, he gets his ass kicked for the first 10 minutes. You start getting comfortable fighting him, next thing you know it, he catches you. The guy is a legend in the sport."
Only one fight matters to Nogueira now: a meeting with Randy Couture (Pictures), whose decision to abdicate the UFC heavyweight title last October led to the UFC 81 showdown between Sylvia and "Minotauro."
"I had many fights in PRIDE, many battles there," Nogueira said. "And [the UFC] gave me a chance to fight here for the belt. I'm here. I'm waiting for anyone to fight. If it's Randy Couture (Pictures) in the future, if he can come back to the UFC, I'd love to fight against him. Please, Randy, fight against me."
In the co-main event, former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir (Pictures) withstood the initial onslaught of former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar (Pictures) and latched on a kneebar to end the fight quickly.
Lesnar had Mir in serious trouble mere seconds into the contest, but it was a combination of Mir's submission wizardry and Lesnar's inexperience that defined victory.
Lesnar shot in and drove Mir down to the canvas a few seconds into the contest. Mir appeared to be in trouble as he faced an onslaught of attacks until Lesnar inadvertently landed punches to the back of the Las Vegas-based heavyweight's head. Referee Steve Mazzagatti halted the battle and took a point from Lesnar, though a warning would have sufficed.
Back on the feet, the fighters exchanged pleasantries with their fists, but Lesnar, fighting out of Minneapolis, Minn., was a bit more forceful with his deliveries. A short right hand dropped Mir, 28, to his back, and Lesnar again pounced trying to put his fallen opponent away. With Lesnar pouring on punches, Mir tried to secure an armbar. However, Lesnar's arm was just too massive, and Mir let go of the hold.
Lesnar continued to rain down strikes with fists encased in triple-XL MMA gloves. Just as Mir's window of opportunity was about to slam shut he caught Lesnar (1-1) in a kneebar as the 2000 NCAA wrestling champion postured up.
Within seconds of the hold, the 30-year-old Lesnar tapped out.
"He pulled out of the armbar earlier, so Marc Laimon showed me that -- the legs stay stationary, I switch to a kneebar," Mir said of the finish he learned from one of the top jiu-jitsu competitors and coaches based in Las Vegas. "It was kind of actually a loose kneebar. His knee was coming out, so I put it behind and drove up to it."
The official time of the submission came at 1:30 of the first round, but the fight, as short lived as it may have been, was one of sheer intensity and had the near-capacity crowd on its feet from the outset.
"Let's face it, I had Brock Lesnar (Pictures), that monster over there, dropping elbows on my head and I pulled through," Mir, now 11-3, said after the fight.
Lesnar, though disappointed that he didn't devour Mir in his UFC debut, had no shame in his performance and made no excuses.
"I came out trying to pressure Frank," Lesnar said. "We questioned his heart. I was just trying to get a bunch of shots in on him. I left my leg there. We've been practicing that. It's like, you know, you go back to the drawing board everyday in the workout room. No excuses. He's a top-notch jiu-jitsu guy. He got me tonight -- he's a better fighter.
"You win some, you lose some. I'd like to win them all, but you can't."
"Minotauro" weathered an early scare from the large Tim Sylvia (Pictures) and wound up submitting the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion with a textbook guillotine choke early in the third round in front of 10,583 fans.
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Sylvia, also 31, pounced on his woozy foe, but once Nogueira cleared his head, the 6-foot-8 "Maine-iac" backed away and allowed his opponent to stand.
Wobbling around the Octagon, Nogueira (31-4-1, 1 NC) ate a few more
damaging right hands before he was able to pull guard. Sylvia was
having no part of the ground game, though, and backed away once
again. The opening round ended with Nogueira, nearly 25 pounds
lighter than Sylvia, scoring a nifty takedown.
With a clear head, Nogueira slowed the pace of the fight in the second round and began out-boxing Sylvia with crafty footwork and pesky left jabs. His many takedown attempts were stuffed, but that didn't matter because the Brazilian, fighting out of Rio De Janeiro in a gym that houses the likes of Anderson Silva, was putting on a virtual boxing clinic.
Nogueira's success in the second ended when Sylvia staggered him again with a sizzling right hand. The Pat Miletich (Pictures)-trained American followed up with the same punch, but Nogueira again rode out the round.
Less than a minute into the third, Nogueira pulled guard just as Sylvia landed another right hand. With Sylvia, of Davenport, Iowa, on top, Nogueira swiftly swept him and scooted to complete side-control.
"He is a true heavyweight," Nogueira said of Sylvia. "He's a giant. I got many hard punches in this fight. I was waiting for a good opportunity to put him on the ground."
Sensing time was running out, Sylvia desperately scrambled in an attempt to return to his feet. As he did, Nogueira locked his arms around his adversary's neck and applied an arm-in guillotine. Sylvia tapped almost immediately while Nogueira applied a tremendous amount of leverage.
"I was ready for him to go to the four-points position," said Nogueira, who claimed the interim UFC heavyweight title at the 1:28 mark of the third. "When I got the first one, that's why I like [working] in combinations. Always I try one submission. If it doesn't work, the second one works."
Falling short in his bid for a third UFC heavyweight title, Sylvia acknowledged Nogueira's win as another impressive comeback.
"It's 'Minotauro' Nogueira," a stunned but respectful Sylvia said. "Every fight he's in, he gets his ass kicked for the first 10 minutes. You start getting comfortable fighting him, next thing you know it, he catches you. The guy is a legend in the sport."
Only one fight matters to Nogueira now: a meeting with Randy Couture (Pictures), whose decision to abdicate the UFC heavyweight title last October led to the UFC 81 showdown between Sylvia and "Minotauro."
"I had many fights in PRIDE, many battles there," Nogueira said. "And [the UFC] gave me a chance to fight here for the belt. I'm here. I'm waiting for anyone to fight. If it's Randy Couture (Pictures) in the future, if he can come back to the UFC, I'd love to fight against him. Please, Randy, fight against me."
In the co-main event, former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir (Pictures) withstood the initial onslaught of former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar (Pictures) and latched on a kneebar to end the fight quickly.
Lesnar had Mir in serious trouble mere seconds into the contest, but it was a combination of Mir's submission wizardry and Lesnar's inexperience that defined victory.
Lesnar shot in and drove Mir down to the canvas a few seconds into the contest. Mir appeared to be in trouble as he faced an onslaught of attacks until Lesnar inadvertently landed punches to the back of the Las Vegas-based heavyweight's head. Referee Steve Mazzagatti halted the battle and took a point from Lesnar, though a warning would have sufficed.
Back on the feet, the fighters exchanged pleasantries with their fists, but Lesnar, fighting out of Minneapolis, Minn., was a bit more forceful with his deliveries. A short right hand dropped Mir, 28, to his back, and Lesnar again pounced trying to put his fallen opponent away. With Lesnar pouring on punches, Mir tried to secure an armbar. However, Lesnar's arm was just too massive, and Mir let go of the hold.
Lesnar continued to rain down strikes with fists encased in triple-XL MMA gloves. Just as Mir's window of opportunity was about to slam shut he caught Lesnar (1-1) in a kneebar as the 2000 NCAA wrestling champion postured up.
Within seconds of the hold, the 30-year-old Lesnar tapped out.
"He pulled out of the armbar earlier, so Marc Laimon showed me that -- the legs stay stationary, I switch to a kneebar," Mir said of the finish he learned from one of the top jiu-jitsu competitors and coaches based in Las Vegas. "It was kind of actually a loose kneebar. His knee was coming out, so I put it behind and drove up to it."
The official time of the submission came at 1:30 of the first round, but the fight, as short lived as it may have been, was one of sheer intensity and had the near-capacity crowd on its feet from the outset.
"Let's face it, I had Brock Lesnar (Pictures), that monster over there, dropping elbows on my head and I pulled through," Mir, now 11-3, said after the fight.
Lesnar, though disappointed that he didn't devour Mir in his UFC debut, had no shame in his performance and made no excuses.
"I came out trying to pressure Frank," Lesnar said. "We questioned his heart. I was just trying to get a bunch of shots in on him. I left my leg there. We've been practicing that. It's like, you know, you go back to the drawing board everyday in the workout room. No excuses. He's a top-notch jiu-jitsu guy. He got me tonight -- he's a better fighter.
"You win some, you lose some. I'd like to win them all, but you can't."
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