(Tie) 4. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
It's appropriate that “Minotauro” would tie with fellow Pride Fighting Championships legend Wanderlei Silva, even if they were part of camps that were bitter rivals, as Nogueira represented Brazilian Top Team and Silva Chute Boxe. Nogueira also finished third among Sherdog's 10 greatest heavyweights and fourth on the Top 10 Pride fighters. When “Big Nog” submitted reigning Grand Prix champion Mark Coleman at Pride 16 and then defeated Heath Herring a month later at Pride 17 for the vacant heavyweight title, 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 150 pounds of muscle heavier who piledrove Nogueira’s head into the canvas at one point. Yet after only a year and a half and five more wins, the two 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, Fedor Emelianenko.
But this is where things get interesting. While he would stay firmly as the No. 2 heavyweight behind Emelianenko, including decisively losing their rematch at Pride Shockwave 2004, Nogueira's resume after losing the title is actually far more impressive than it was while being the champ. He armbarred Mirko Filipovic, choked out Herring in a rematch, defeated Sergei Kharitonov by decision, beat Fabricio Werdum, avenged a loss to Josh Barnett and, after moving to the UFC, choked out former champ Tim Sylvia. It's an absolutely amazing run, with only the losses to Emelianenko and Barnett marring 12 victories against excellent opposition. Alas, by the time of his next fight against Frank Mir, Nogueira was already past his prime at just 32, having endured brutal punishment in over 35 professional fights. Aside from a dominant 2009 decision win over similarly faded legend Randy Couture and knocking out future comedian Brendan Schaub in 2011, the Brazilian legend's last years were more sad than anything. Still, he enjoyed over eight years of great wins and dominance against everyone except Fedor.
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