Even way back in August 2002, I felt that former Pride World Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira already had enough, despite winning that iconic fight in Pride Shockwave in Tokyo.
That night, the hulking American footballer Bob Sapp used the professional wrestling move “piledriver/power bomb” against the much smaller Nogueira.
Sapp, enjoying a 150-pound advantage, dominated the Brazilian by spiking him (yes, head first) onto the canvas and landing loads of heavy ground-and-pound hits.
Eventually, though, his power moves—successful or otherwise—along with his opponent’s incredible tenacity, had Sapp gassing out in the middle of the second round. And, as is his signature, the battered Nogueira sucked it up and pulled off an arm-bar submission victory. (Well, he is not widely considered as the best-ever heavyweight submission artist for nothing.)
It may have been a Pyrrhic victory of sorts: Nogueira winning the fight, but losing the battle in terms of suffering bodily damage—the long-term kind whose effects will surface and punish him in his later years. Think Muhammad Ali.
And, just like the boxing legend, Nogueira became more famous for his solid chin and seemingly super-human capacity to endure punishment and eke out a win.
He may never have been the same afterward: Nogueira may have been Sapped considerably of his warrior spirit and physical integrity.
However, true fighter that he was—and is—he proved then that with 19 professional fights (17-1-1), he wasn’t even halfway along his legendary MMA career. He soldiered on until his 41st fight and now sports a 33-6-1 and one no-contest record.
The last win, as we all know by now, is by way of his sensational first round KO victory over Brendan Schaub in UFC 134.
Along the way, he showed more of his winning ways with triumphs over Semmy Schilt, Dan Henderson, Ricco Rodriguez, Mirko Filipovic, Heath Herring and Sergei Kharitonov, successively.
He also faced the The Last Emperor thrice, experiencing Fedor Emelianenko‘s thunderous fists in their first and third fights, which he both lost by unanimous decision. The second fight was a no-contest when the Russian suffered a cut after an accidental headbutt and was not able to continue.
In his UFC 73 debut in 2007, he again beat Herring, whom he previously submitted in Pride in 2004.
Next, in February of 2008, he won the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship and Fight of the Night honors with his guillotine choke win over Tim Sylvia. This feat made him the first fighter to hold championships in both the UFC and Pride.
Unfortunately, in December of the same year he lost his UFC title when he was stopped for the first time in his career, via TKO (punches) by Frank Mir.
This stoppage must be proof not only of Mir’s improved striking skills, but also of Nogueira’s chin finally softening after years of wear-and-tear.
In 2010, he earned a victory over UFC Hall of Fame member Randy Couture by unanimous decision before losing to Cain Velasquez by KO due to punches, suffering his second career stoppage.
Perhaps Schaub was planning to exploit the recent vulnerability of Nogueira’s once-granite chin.
But it doesn’t matter now, as it was the younger fighter’s chin that gave way to Nogueira’s punches, earning for the veteran his third KO win.
Big Nog proves that he still has some gas in the tank. It may no longer be at full tank, but he definitely still has some left to keep him running.
For how long, only he and his personal physician (if he has one) can guess or know.
Much as anybody may be concerned for his overall health, apparently it doesn’t matter to Big Nog. He always fights for and in the moment, in complete disregard of anything else but the win. It is his nature.
And no, he doesn’t fight “safely.”
This mindset, aside from his superb fighting skills, is the reason behind his 23 wins by finishes in 33 fights.
How much more damage is he willing to risk just to keep on fighting? Or should he do a Chris Lytle and now walk away with a last win by stoppage?
His choice, entirely.
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