4. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
“Minotauro,” who was also No. 3 on Sherdog's list of the greatest heavyweights ever, comes in fourth. If not for Fedor Emelianenko, who—huge spoiler—tops both lists, Nogueira would have likely been No. 1 on this list himself. He had an amazing record of 17-3 with one no contest in Pride, with two of those losses being to Emelianenko and one a close split decision to Josh Barnett that he avenged just three months later. 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 a Brazilian jiu-jitsu 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 five more wins, the two most impressive being submissions of Semmy Schilt and Dan Henderson, and just a year and a half after first attaining the throne, Nogueira was shockingly and convincingly defeated by an unheralded Russian fighter from the Rings organization. But this is where things get interesting. While he would stay firmly as the #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 in another comeback classic, choked out Heath Herring in a rematch, decisioned Sergei Kharitonov, defeated Fabricio Werdum in 2006, and as noted before, avenged a split decision loss to Josh Barnett by defeating him in the rematch, his final fight in Pride. It was obvious by the end that Nogueira was declining, but his endless toughness and dedication to improvement meant that he still exited the promotion on a high note. In five years, he had carved an impressive legend for himself.
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