Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

From CageWiki

1 In His Youth
2 MMA Career
3 Rise Back To The Top
4 Mixed martial arts record
5 Gallery
6 External links

In His Youth

When Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (born June 2, 1976) was just five years old, he began training in Judo. It appeared that Nogueira was born to be a fighter. And that inner strength would serve him well in his training, and also when tragedy struck at age ten:
“I was talking with someone and when I saw the truck, it was on my side, so I couldn’t escape, the tires went over my body, and I remember my brother tried to pull me to escape from there, but I couldn’t get out. I remember a lot of pain in my legs, and then the tires went over my belly and then my shoulder. I felt like I was going to die.”
Nogueira spent four days in a coma for and was forced to remain in the hospital for almost 11 months with broken legs and serious internal injuries. A broken rib cut into liver, forcing removal of part of the organ and of one of his ribs. His diaphragm was injured as well, and he required machines in order to breathe.

It was two months after being released from the hospital before Nogueira could walk once again. Despite the scars from the incident he returned to training. He added Boxing, and at age fourteen, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, to his regimen.

MMA Career

At age twenty-three Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira earned his Black Belts in both Judo and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. He made his professional Mixed Martial Arts debut on June 12, 1999, defeating David Dodd by submission in the first round. 1999 was a good year for Nogueira, seeing him win three more matches, all by submission, in a total combined time of 4:23.

After a decision over Jeremy Horn, Nogueira finally tasted defeat, dropping a split decision to Dan Henderson in the RINGS King of Kings tournament. Nogueira would win the tournament next year, but would have to wait to avenge the loss to Henderson.

On July, 29, 2001, Nogueira would who would become known as a "Minotauro" had his first fight for the PRIDE promotion, beating Gary Goodridge by Triangle Choke. That win marked Nogueira's sixth in a row, a streak which would eventually include wins over Mark Coleman, Enson Inoue, Bob Sapp, Semmy Schilt and Heath Herring. With the victory over Herring, Nogueira became the first PRIDE Heavyweight Champion. On December, 23, 2002 "Minotauro" fought Dan Henderson in a rematch, winning by Armbar, and bringing his win streak to eleven.

Having avenged what was then the sole loss of his career Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira looked to his challenge; a title defense against Fedor Emelianenko. Emelianenko would emerge the title holder, winning a unanimous decision.

"Minotauro" Nogueira staged a comeback, submitting Mirko Cro Cop, and beating Ricco Rodriguez, Hirotaka Yokoi, Heath Herring, and Sergei Kharitonov. Once again Nogueira would face Fedor Emelianenko, and once again "Minotauro" would lose.

Rise Back To The Top

After suffering what remains the sole unavenged loss in his fighting life, Nogueira came out on top in his next four fights. On the heels of a win over highly-ranked Fabricio Werdum, "Minotauro" squared off with Josh Barnett. Barnett edged out a split decision but would lose a rematch less than four months later.

The match with Barnett was Nogueira's last in PRIDE, with the promotion folding shortly thereafter. This lead to Nogueira finding his present home in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His Octagon debut was a successful hat trick over Heath Herring, which was followed by a bout for the Interim Heavyweight belt, against former champ, Tim Sylvia. In round three of the brutal contest, which saw much of Nogueira's face covered in blood, he secured a guillotine choke on his hulking opponent. Moments later, Sylvia tapped.

Following the Sylvia win, Nogueira was signed as a coach on season eight of The Ultimate Fighter. At the end of the show, Nogueira would face off against rival coach, former UFC heavyweight champion, Frank Mir in the first defense of his interim title.

At UFC 92, the two coaches squared off with Nogueira looking sluggish while Mir peppered him with strikes. Mir continously knocked Nogueira down with strikes and in the second round did what no man had done before in an MMA bout and stopped Nogueira.

Nogueira will return at UFC 102 when he faces UFC Hall of Famer, Randy Couture in the main event.