Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will make his return against Brendan Schaub at UFC 134 after a long layoff filled with injuries. However Nogueira’s physical trainer, Claudio Pavanelli, said the heavyweight is in great condition and prepared to return.Pavanell…
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will make his return against Brendan Schaub at UFC 134 after a long layoff filled with injuries. However Nogueira’s physical trainer, Claudio Pavanelli, said the heavyweight is in great condition and prepared to return.
Pavanelli, who is a sports physiologist for Brazilian soccer team Flamengo, said it was the first time he worked with a mixed martial arts fighter.
Pavanelli spoke to TATAME.com about his training sessions and experience working with Nogueira, whose first intention was to prevent any injuries.
“Our goal was to improve his performance safely and put him in condition to train his techniques and the specific trainings for the fight,” Pavanelli said.
Pavanelli added that they gradually picked up the intensity in training in order to further reach their goal.
Pavanelli said one of the reasons that Nogueira has been able to properly prepare is his determination.
After both preparing Nogueira for his upcoming bout and seeing him steadily improve and grow as a fighter, Pavenelli believes “Minotauro” is physically ready to fight.
“It’s easy working with him,” he said.
“He knows what is really important, what makes difference for him. There’s no such thing as ‘we’ll find it out later’. Rodrigo knows exactly what will happen to him.”
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has been one of the most successful heavyweights in the history of mixed martial arts. But the question is—can Nogueira still compete with the sport’s top stars? Nogueira has only fought three times in the past two-…
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has been one of the most successful heavyweights in the history of mixed martial arts.
But the question is—can Nogueira still compete with the sport’s top stars?
Nogueira has only fought three times in the past two-and-a-half years, and he lost two of those fights. Both Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez finished Nogueira by knockout. Nogueira’s only win over that time period was a decision victory over Randy Couture.
Nogueira could be close to the end of his storied career, in which he held both the Pride heavyweight championship and the UFC interim heavyweight championship.
Now ready to resume his career, he is preparing for a fight with fast-rising prospect Brendan Schaub.
Since losing in The Ultimate Fighter season 10 finale to Roy Nelson, Schaub is on a run of four straight wins. Among the fighters Schaub has beaten are Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop.
“Schaub is a tough young guy,” Nogueira said about his opponent, “I feel great to be getting back in the Octagon, and I am very excited to be fighting at home.”
Even though Nogueira would appear to be playing the gatekeeper role in this bout, the former champion is not thinking about retirement just yet.
“I think I can fight a few more years,” Nogueira said. “I’m in good shape right now. Stronger than before.”
The upcoming fight with Schaub will take place on the televised portion of the UFC 134 pay-per-view this coming Saturday.
The match-up will also mark the first time Nogueira has not been in the main-event or co-main event since his UFC debut back in July 7 2007.
At this point, Nogueira will need to make a big impression to get back into contention. The oddsmakers do not necessarily agree that he will be successful. Schaub is currently listed as a 2 ½ to 1 favorite.
Coming back after a year-and-a-half absence, Nogueira was not concerned about who he was facing.
“Whoever they put me in to fight, I’ll be ready,” the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt said. “If I have a chance to fight for the title, I’d love to.”
Nogueira would quickly change his mind though if the champion is Junior Dos Santos. Dos Santos, Nogueira’s close protégé, is set to face off with UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez in October.
“He’s not the type of guy I just train with,” Nogueira said, when asked if he’d want to challenge for the title if Dos Santos won. “He stays with me.”
Nogueira believes Dos Santos has a great chance in the title fight.
“He’s very comfortable,” Nogueira said about Dos Santos. “He has fast hands and improved a lot of his wrestling. He’s the top of the weight division. Very exciting to watch him fight.”
Should Nogueira have a successful restart in his career, someone he could see himself crossing paths with is former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
However, Lesnar would first have to recover from his second bout of diverticulitis.
“I hope he comes back,” Nogueira said. “Everybody wants to see him fight again. He’s a strong guy. He’s a very strong guy to fight with me. I want to see him healthy.”
Nogueira has also spoken of his desire to have a rematch with his former The Ultimate Fighter rival, Frank Mir. Mir defeated Nogueira by TKO back in December 2008.
After the fight, UFC President Dana White stated that Nogueira had just gotten over a staph infection in the weeks leading up to the bout.
Originally, the two former champions were slated to have a rematch last September, but Nogueira pulled out in order to have surgery on both of his knees.
Even though it has been close to three years since Nogueira and Mir first fought, Nogueira still does not respect the trash-talking Mir does.
“I don’t like that,” Nogueira said about Mir’s interview style. “I have to be confident, but I’m not going to say anything bad.”
Unlike Mir’s pre-fight gamesmanship, Nogueira has nothing negative to say about the fast-rising prospect.
However, after his recent losses as well as his recent medical problems, Nogueira has to win this fight so that nothing negative is said about him. This fight represents a genuine crossroads for the highly decorated star.
With a win, Nogueira can quickly get back into the title picture, but with a loss, Nogueira may have to seriously consider what should be next.
The UFC returns to Brazil for UFC 134 this Saturday night, and Bleacher Report is here with the latest predictions for the UFC Rio card. This exciting card will feature a highly anticipated rematch between defending UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson…
The UFC returns to Brazil for UFC 134 this Saturday night, and Bleacher Report is here with the latest predictions for the UFC Rio card.
This exciting card will feature a highly anticipated rematch between defending UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and the last man to defeat him, Yushin Okami. These two last fought back in January 2006 when Okami was given the victory by way of disqualification.
Another important rematch will take place in the semi-main event when two former UFC light heavyweight champions do battle, as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua fights Forrest Griffin. After being touted as the top 205-pound fighter in the world, Rua surprisingly stumbled in his UFC debut against Griffin in September 2007 at UFC 76.
But while Shogun and Silva are looking to rectify losses that were perceived to be uncharacteristic, other fighters on Saturday night’s card are simply looking to make a name for themselves in what may turn out to be the summer’s biggest event.
So without further ado, let’s look at the UFC Rio: 134 fight card!
Brendan Schaub has established a bit of reputation for himself defeating Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop. At UFC 134, he has the opportunity to beat another legend in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Schaub’s chance to beat Nogueira potentially puts hi…
Brendan Schaub has established a bit of reputation for himself defeating Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop.
At UFC 134, he has the opportunity to beat another legend in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Schaub’s chance to beat Nogueira potentially puts him in line for a title shot, however he’ll have to do it in Brazil, where Noguera will have home-field advantage.
“They asked me if I want to fight him in Denver, but I wanted to fight him in Brazil,” Schaub told Lowkick.com.
Since debuting for the UFC in 2008, Schaub has seen his fair share of competition, but Nogueira will be his biggest challenge yet. Nogueira is renowned for his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and displays good technique in his boxing as well. But his ability to absorb punishment, once a valuable trait, has failed him recently as he has been stopped twice in his last four fights.
Obviously, it’s a weakness that “The Hybrid” will look to expose once again when he meets the Brazilian in Rio de Janeiro next weekend. Currently on a four-fight win streak, Schaub believes beating Nogueira will make strong argument to have him challenge for the UFC heavyweight title.
“Look, going out there to Brazil and beat Nogueira in his homeland is something that Cain, Frank Mir or Fedor never did,” he said.
“So yeah, I think that beating Nogueira in Brazil makes a pretty good argument for a title shot, not speaking about the fact that it’s going to be my fifth consecutive victory.”
Also confident in his abilities, Schaub predicts he will finish Nogueira early.
“I think Nogueira will have a tough time dealing with my speed. I’ll knock him out in Round 2,” he said.
With a career-defining fight coming up against Brendan Schaub at UFC 134 in Rio, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira uncharacteristically came out with some controversial comments. Minotauro spoke with UOL Esporte in regards to training with a gay fighter, and Bl…
With a career-defining fight coming up against Brendan Schaub at UFC 134 in Rio, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira uncharacteristically came out with some controversial comments.
“I have no prejudice against the gays, but I wouldn’t train with someone who’s gay”—already a pretty loaded statement from one of the biggest stars to ever fight in Pride.
Nogueira continued:
“I have no malice, I don’t take our physical contact as (something) sexual. But what is that person has that malice of having physical contact with me, of staying there grappling?”
An interesting point of view, the UFC heavyweight concluded, “I would have no problems having a gay student in my academy, but I would rather not train with him.”
The question of homophobia in MMA recently came up when Dennis Hallman wore a speedo at UFC 133.
UFC president Dana White spoke about how much he hated the choice of fight trunks, among other things, stating that “I’ve never been so embarrassed being in the UFC.”
White also strongly hinted at firing Hallman after the loss, though Hallman is still officially listed on the UFC’s official website.
Also worth recalling is that White actually addressed the idea of a gay fighter in the UFC back at UFC 98 via a video blog.
“I honestly think it would have no impact whatsoever, with not only our fighters, but our fan base,” White said.
“The guys in the UFC, everybody’s so cool, there’s great sportsmanship, everybody’s so respectful. It wouldn’t be a big deal to me, and most the guys I know in this sport, it wouldn’t be a big deal to them either.”
Nogueira is 4-3 in his past seven fights heading into his bout with Schaub, so while a loss may not necessarily spell the end of a storied career, it would likely mark the end of Minotauro’s time as a top 10 heavyweight in the sport.
Gather around, fight fans, as UFC 134: Rio is almost upon us. Featured in this spectacular card is a title rematch between Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami, another rematch between Forrest Griffin and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and a generationa…
Gather around, fight fans, as UFC 134: Rio is almost upon us.
Featured in this spectacular card is a title rematch between Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami, another rematch between Forrest Griffin and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and a generational battle between MMA legend Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira and rising superstar Brendan Schaub.
So how will this card event play out? Let’s take a look at all the main card bouts and pick out some winners, shall we?
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will make his return against Brendan Schaub at UFC 134 after a long layoff filled with injuries. However Nogueira’s physical trainer, Claudio Pavanelli, said the heavyweight is in great condition and prepared to return.