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UFC 134 Results: Antonio Nogueira Says UFC Rio Was the Best Moment of His Career

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is known by many as one of the greatest heavyweight mixed martial artists of all-time, but was UFC 134 the greatest moment of his career? Some may say no, and point back to his accomplishments in Pride, but the man himself beli…

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is known by many as one of the greatest heavyweight mixed martial artists of all-time, but was UFC 134 the greatest moment of his career?

Some may say no, and point back to his accomplishments in Pride, but the man himself believes that his victory over Brendan Schaub on tonight’s card, in front of his home country of Brazil, was indeed the best moment of his career.

“For sure,” Nogueira told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani in response to the question. “I’ve had a couple great moments in my career, I beat Cro Cop, I won the Pride belt. I won the UFC belt in 2008… But this time, in Brazil, was my 40th fight. I had a lot of support from my team.”

At 35 years old, Nogueira was believed by many to be nearing the very end of his career. In fact, some believed that he may even announce his retirement with a loss at UFC Rio. But after 10 months of intense, daily physical therapy, “Minatauro” is back.

“When I accepted this fight, I wasn’t ready at all,” he admitted. “But I’m back, I’m feeling good.”

One thing that might have made it even sweeter is that the odds-makers had him as a fairly significant underdog to the relatively inexperienced Brendan Schaub, who was coming off of a knockout victory over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.

“Sometimes they’ve got a bad memory,” he said of those who predicted that Brendan Schaub would win this fight. “There are a lot of new guys coming up, and I’ve got respect for them. But I’m still here. I’ve got my place.”

“I like to be the underdog,” he added. “I’ve got to improve a little bit more, with my wrestling.”

At 35, it’s hard to believe that Nogueira can still be getting better, but the results speak for themselves. This legendary MMA fighter isn’t done yet.

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UFC 134: Royce Gracie and 5 Brazilian Fighters Who Were Snubbed from the Card

The UFC returns to Brazil this weekend for one of the biggest fight cards the promotion has ever put on, UFC 134, which is also being dubbed “UFC Rio.” 11 of the 12 scheduled fights will include at least one Brazilian fighter, including th…

The UFC returns to Brazil this weekend for one of the biggest fight cards the promotion has ever put on, UFC 134, which is also being dubbed “UFC Rio.”

11 of the 12 scheduled fights will include at least one Brazilian fighter, including three fights in which both competitors are from the host country. The nationality of the fighters alone doesn’t guarantee that these fights are going to be great, but the fans will certainly be loving the way that the UFC has set-up this event for their viewing enjoyment.

But not everyone was invited to entertain at the party. In fact, there are a few top-level fighters and legends who will not be competing at this very important event.

Certainly timing, and the total number of fighters that can be on a card, has to be taken into account, but these five fighters are ones who many would agree should have been included in the UFC 134 festivities.

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UFC 134: Brendan Schaub Poised to Ruin Nogueira’s Trip Home

Saturday night has a long list of great fights lined up, one’s that have made the event one of the most anticipated in the UFC’s history. One of the most biggest showdowns of the evening pits rising heavyweight star Brendan Schaub against MMA leg…

This fight takes place in Rio, which is in Nogueira’s home country, so he will have the obvious home-octagon (can we agree on this term to replace home-field?) advantage. But it seems that the younger fighter, Schaub, has the advantage in just about every other aspect of this fight.

Nogueira is returning from surgery on his hip and both knees, so he has not fought in over 18 months. Even though Dana White mentioned several times in his video blog that Big Nog looked in fantastic shape, those are some major red flags. Also, it seems that he has caught a case of “Chuck Liddell-itis” as of late.

In Nog’s long and prestigious career he did not get stopped in his first 36 contests. In his last three, though, two have ended with him staring straight up into the rafters, with a doctor standing over him. I think we can give him a break on the knockout loss to Cain Velasquez, but prior to that he got stopped by Frank Mir, who isn’t exactly known for lighting too many people up.

He might be hitting that point in his career where he just has too many miles on his odometer. Having 40 professional fights wears on your body, his chin seems to have left him high and dry. When that happens, it’s just a matter of time until it’s all over.

Brendan Schaub is on the exact opposite side of the spectrum from Nogueira. Schaub is a young, big strong heavyweight who likes to use his fists in the cage. He is a big guy that has just enough skills to be able to keep this bout standing up—because as you probably know, no matter how old Nogueira is, no one wants to go to the ground with him.

As much as people are looking forward to this contest, it is a terrible match-up for Big Nog. Schaub should take this handily, and I would bet it doesn’t go the distance.

UFC president Dana White has come out and stated that this fight could have title implications. The winner of this will be ‘in the mix’, whatever that means, in the heavyweight division. It just seems hard for me to imagine seeing Big Nog back ‘in the mix’ at this point of his career. I just can’t picture it happening.

This bout down in Rio has a much more distinct feel of a swansong, rather than a career rejuvenation. Schaub is riding a four fight win streak, and is beginning to have the looks of another up-and-coming contender in the big boys division.

This fight is going to end a lot like Schaub’s last trip to the octagon against Mirko Crop Cop. Schaub is going to keep this standing, avoiding all of Nog’s take downs, then connect and send Nogueira into Sunday morning.

No one is going to hold it against Nog if he loses this, it should be expected.

At least Nog is getting a chance to perform in front of his home crowd, because, oddly enough, he has not done that yet professionally.

If I were a betting man, which I am, I would take the -225 Schaub is getting and run. Schaub by TKO.

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UFC 134 Silva vs. Okami: Main Card Weigh-In Results and Analysis

UFC 134 weigh-ins took place earlier today with all 22 fighters stepping on the scale and successfully making weight. UFC middleweight champion and pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami each made the 185-pound limit. Mauricio “Shog…

UFC 134 weigh-ins took place earlier today with all 22 fighters stepping on the scale and successfully making weight.

UFC middleweight champion and pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami each made the 185-pound limit.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Forrest Griffin appeared in tremendous shape for the rematch, which will be the night’s co-main event.

Additionally, the six remaining main card fighters looked sharp and charged up for the organizations return to Brazil.

Who were the biggest winners and losers at weigh-ins? Follow inside to learn who has the edge heading into tomorrow night’s action.

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UFC 134 Weigh In Results: Anderson Silva (184) vs. Yushin Okami (183)

Here we go folks! It’s time for the main event.
Can Yushin Okami pull off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history?
Without Chael Sonnen, Yushin Okami comes out, and he gets more boos than any fighter yet. He weighs in at an extremely lean 183-pounds.
…

Here we go folks! It’s time for the main event.

Can Yushin Okami pull off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history?

Without Chael Sonnen, Yushin Okami comes out, and he gets more boos than any fighter yet. He weighs in at an extremely lean 183-pounds.

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva comes out with his son, and as expected, he’s a major crowd favorite. It looks like he left his white mask at home for this bout.

“I’m going to do my best, and I’m going to take home the belt,” contender Yushin Okami told UFC commentator Mike Goldberg at the weigh-ins. “Don’t miss it. I’m going to be here with my all, and I’m going to win.”

Goldberg makes his way over to Silva, and the champ seems confident and thankful for the opportunity to fight in his native land.

“Thank you everyone for coming. I hope everyone comes here and watches this great event because it’s Brazil versus the rest of the world.”

UFC 134 Weigh In Results: Luiz Cane (204) vs. Stanislav Nedkov (203)

Stanislav Nedkov isn’t getting any love in his UFC debut. He’s enemy No. 1 against Brazilian Luis Cane, who is a standout light heavyweight.
He weighs in at a considerably light 203-pounds.
Cane comes out to a loud pop and hits his mark at 204-pounds. …

Stanislav Nedkov isn’t getting any love in his UFC debut. He’s enemy No. 1 against Brazilian Luis Cane, who is a standout light heavyweight.

He weighs in at a considerably light 203-pounds.

Cane comes out to a loud pop and hits his mark at 204-pounds. Despite a multitude of experience, Cane hasn’t really fought a solid wrestler, and it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the powerful takedowns of Nedkov.