‘Minotauro’ Nogueira: A Firsthand Account

---

Andreas Hale: “Big Nog” provided so many memories during his tenure in Pride. By the time he made his UFC debut in 2007, he wasn’t quite the same fighter who had become a living legend in Japan. However, the night of Aug. 29, 2009 will always stick out to me, as I was present for his showdown against Randy Couture.

Although the main event paired two aging legends whose best years were behind them, the crowd in Portland, Ore., went nuclear as they made their entrances and Bruce Buffer announced both fighters. It was easily Nogueira’s most complete performance in quite some time, as he showed off improved striking complete with dirty boxing, a strong clinch game and his always-impressive jiu-jitsu.

Most memorable were the moments when the two living legends slugged it out with no regard and the crowd just went berserk. It was a testament to the appreciation everyone had for the fighters, as “Minotauro” walked away with an impressive unanimous decision. It was indicative of the love and passion MMA fans had for these two fighters and it seemed almost poetic that “Big Nog” was the one who had his hand raised in victory.

***

R.J. Clifford: Big ol’ Nog. Few fighters’ careers personify their era better than the Brazilian’s. In the early 2000s, during Pride’s heyday, Nogueira was the normal-looking, non-athlete among a roster of not-so-suspiciously jacked competition. He was the working man’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu hero, chugging along on heart, toughness and mat savvy. Like his professional rival Fedor Emelianenko, part of his allure grew by finding success when his chances looked the bleakest. Mirko Filipovic was coasting to a victory before one mistake left him submitted, and Tim Sylvia had the Brazilian Top Team hero battered and hurt before succumbing to a guillotine.

The only time I legitimately feared for a fighter’s life was when Bob Sapp used his seemingly 500-pound advantage to power bomb the wide-eyed champion. However, it was only a matter of time before Nogueira found a way to extend the biggest arm to ever fight in Pride, leaving the other arm tapping desperately. Nearing the age of 40, Nogueira’s inevitable decline was surprising only because it came so late. Nogueira was eating ground-and-pound when Bill Clinton was in office. His Homer Simpson-style of taking damage to wear out his opponents should have left his body destitute and destroyed before he ever fought in the UFC, and yet, he still managed to add an interim UFC championship to his monstrous trophy case.

Nogueira’s is not a style anyone should try to mimic, but it made him a symbol of toughness and heart in a sport built on those traits.

***

Danny Acosta: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s retirement signals an era’s end. Will there ever be a mythic heart like Nogueira’s again?

Nogueira’s first bout with Josh Barnett in September 2006 is a heavyweight grappling marvel. That fight, even though Nogueira lost a close decision, is how I will choose to remember him. This style clash between two of the best heavyweight grapplers ever is an under-celebrated highlight from Pride’s death throes.

A year later, inside Arco Arena’s upper deck at UFC 73 in Sacramento, Calif., I commented to my brother on Nogueira’s legendary chin, resiliency and how Heath Herring was meant to lose -- and then, “Whack!” A Herring high kick cracked Nogueira like a baseball bat. Yet he survived, soldering on for his first UFC win, only to fight Father Time for most of his tenure inside Octagon.

“Minotauro” finished with a 5-6 UFC record, but it’s his time in Pride that makes him beyond reproach, regardless of the fact that his eight-year run in Zuffa ended with three tough-to-watch fights. Pure respect goes to Nogueira, a world-class ambassador for MMA and a true pioneer.

***

Tristen Critchfield: Before zombies in movies, television shows and spin-offs became staples of pop culture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was mixed martial arts’ original “Walking Dead.”

Nothing could kill Nogueira; not the truck that ran over the 10-year-old “Minotauro” and sent him into a four-day coma, costing him a rib and part of his liver; not the countless surgeries that undoubtedly made him age in dog years; not a 400-pound Bob Sapp attempting to piledrive and power bomb him through the Pride Fighting Championships ring; not even Frank Mir snapping his arm damn near in half. “Big Nog” always kept coming.

However, unlike your run-of-mill walker, Nogueira had savvy. Blast him in the dome with a crowbar… errr head kick ... and “Minotauro” wouldn’t necessarily stumble back to his feet to continue the same flawed method of attack. It was then that Nogueira often had opponents right where he wanted them. To follow the dazed Brazilian to the mat was to risk becoming ensnared in one of his patented Hail Mary submissions. It was because of that resilience that it still somehow seemed reasonable for Nogueira to keep plodding forward in his career.

Even in the aftermath of UFC 190, where a badly diminished Nogueira suffered his third straight loss at the hands of Stefan Struve, the veteran fighter continued to hint that he’d rather face Mir for a third time than retire. In the end, UFC President Dana White had to play to role of Rick Grimes, because defeat alone was obviously not enough to deter the former Pride champion; but the UFC boss didn’t off Nogueira -- he simply paid him to step away. Now “Minotauro” will spend his post-fighting days in an executive role, helping to develop talent in his homeland. Don’t think for a minute that he won’t still wonder how that third bout with Mir might have gone.

Finish Reading » In Salvador’s 100-degree heat, he took off his shirt, exposing the scars from his accident when he was 10 years old. I was left awestruck when he told me about waking up from his coma, spending a year in the hospital, overcoming his physical injuries and becoming a jiu-jitsu champion.