In his first bout with Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira didn’t appear to be himself.
The Brazilian’s renowned striking and iron chin were non-existent as he was finished for the time in his career en route to a second round TKO.
Since then, Nogueira underwent multiple surgeries to repair some injuries and he resurfaced back onto the scene with a first-round knockout over Brendan Schaub at UFC 134. With the injuries behind him, Nogueira looks to remain healthy and motivated for his rematch against Mir next weekend.
And this time around, Nogueira said he feels confident in his training camp.
“For the last fight, we had more distractions and we’d just finished the show a couple months before in Vegas and it was hard to train over there. When I came to Brazil, I didn’t feel like the camp was really good,” Nogueira said during a UFC 140 media conference call earlier this week. “I’m more focused on what I’m doing and I’ve got my sparring partners and been able to train the way I wanted.”
Upon his UFC debut, there was a lot of optimism for “Big Nog” as he defeated Heath Herring and Tim Sylvia to capture the UFC interim heavyweight title. But against Mir, Nogueira did not perform under expectations.
The loss had some critics questioning his longevity in the sport. After a sudden resurgence against Schaub earlier this year, however, Nogueira feels prepared and excited to compete once again.
“I feel more popular, more explosive and more confident now,” he said. “I feel this camp is better than the last one and I know Frank’s improved since the last time I fought him but I’m in shape and I’m ready to go and I’m excited to fight.”
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