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The former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder completed his remarkable career with a 34-10-1 record that included 24 finishes, 14 of them inside one round. Nogueira tested himself against the vast majority of his contemporaries, his unique combination of skill and resilience allowing him to become one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time. “Minotauro” made his final appearance at UFC 190 on Aug. 1, 2015, when he wound up on the wrong side of the scorecards against the 6-foot-11 Stefan Struve.
As Nogueira drifts further and further into MMA’s rearview mirror, a look at some of the numbers he compiled during his unforgettable 16-year run:
45: Years of age for Nogueira, who was born on June 2, 1976 in Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil—the third-largest city in the state of Bahia.
21: Nogueira wins by submission, accounting for 62% of his career total (34). His methods of choice: 10 armbars, three triangle chokes, two anaconda chokes, one crucifix, one keylock, one rear-naked choke, one arm-triangle choke, one triangle armbar and one guillotine choke. Nogueira owns three other wins by knockout or technical knockout and 10 more by decision.
11: Pride Fighting Championships victories for Nogueira, tying him with the great Kazushi Sakuraba for first on the now-defunct Japanese promotion’s all-time list.
.712: Cumulative winning percentage between the eight men—Struve, Fedor Emelianenko (twice), Frank Mir (twice), Roy Nelson, Fabricio Werdum, Cain Velasquez, Josh Barnett and Dan Henderson—who defeated Nogueira. They hold a combined record of 215-86-1.
1: Draw on the Nogueira resume. He fought to a two-round stalemate with Tsuyoshi Kosaka at a Rings event on Aug. 23, 2000.
498: Days spent by Nogueira as undisputed Pride heavyweight champion. He held the title from Nov. 3, 2001 to March 16, 2003. Nogueira captured the title with a unanimous decision over Heath Herring at Pride 17, then surrendered it in a unanimous decision defeat to Emelianenko at Pride 25 a little some 16 months later.
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40: Seconds needed by Nogueira to submit Yuriy Kochkine with an armbar in the second round of the Rings “King of Kings” tournament on Oct. 28, 1999. Having occurred in just his fourth professional appearance, it was the fastest finish of his 46-fight career.
6: Wins over former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholders on the Nogueira ledger. He defeated Werdum, Barnett, Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, Ricco Rodriguez and Mark Coleman.
91,107: Fans who witnessed perhaps Nogueira’s signature moment at Tokyo National Stadium on Aug. 28, 2002. He absorbed a hellacious beating from the monstrous Bob Sapp—an opponent who stood 6-foot-5 and outweighed him by more than 120 pounds—for some four minutes before submitting him with an armbar.
13: Consecutive victories for Nogueira between Oct. 9, 2000 and Dec. 23, 2002. It was the longest such streak of his career.