While Rodrigo Nogueira is one of the greatest technical mixed martial artists of all time, but the prime of his career has come and gone.
At UFC 134 in Rio, Brazil, Nogueira will be fighting in his home country, but unfortunately for him he will be fighting up-and-comer Brendan Schaub.
Schaub is one of the best young fighters in the UFC, and this fight is the quintessential meeting of ascending and descending stars if I have ever seen one.
While he isn’t taking Nogueira lightly, Schaub told LowCorner.com:
That’s part of the game. He’s confident in his Jiu-Jitsu and he should be. He’s one of the best in the world with Jiu-Jitsu, so in my opinion, there’s no disrespect in anything he said. I’m very confident with my boxing, and he’s confident in his grappling. So we’ll see how it plays out and who’s tougher. Yeah, obviously my best chance to knock him out. But at the same time too, I consider myself a Mixed Martial Artist. All my achievements as a fighter are not because I’m a good KO guy, but because I know how to put it all together. So like I said, it’s going to be an MMA fight, and I’m ready for anything Nogueira will bring to the Octagon.
Schaub is a great fighter and both men are abundantly confident in their talents, but the difference in age will be the deciding factor in this match.
Even with all of the cardio in the world, Nogueira has way too many miles on his motor and Schaub will wear him down over the three rounds.
Nogueira stills has the amazing talent to submit Schaub at any point, but the overwhelming all-around talent from Schaub will be too much for Nogueira to stop.
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