It appears that not everyone associated in mixed martial arts was aware of Shane Carwin stepping in to replace Brock Lesnar at UFC 131, including UFC heavyweight, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Nogueira, who is a mentor and training partner to Junior d…
It appears that not everyone associated in mixed martial arts was aware of Shane Carwin stepping in to replace Brock Lesnar at UFC 131, including UFC heavyweight, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Nogueira, who is a mentor and training partner to Junior dos Santos, will watch his protege square off against Carwin, with the winner promised a title shot at UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. According to FightersOnly.com, Nogueira was in the middle of conducting an interview when he heard about the news.
“Is Lesnar out? Is this a lie? Are you speaking seriously!?,” he said.
The addition of Carwin sets up an interesting bout between two of the top heavyweight strikers. While the sudden replacement only gives dos Santos a limited amount of time to prepare, Nogueira said it won’t be an issue.
“I think the change is good and will help us in Cigano’s training. He was very much focused into boxing and a little without wrestling. The fight will be easier for him for sure.”
Carwin was originally scheduled to fight Jon Olav Einemo at the event, but when news broke of Lesnar’s absence, Carwin was notified and slotted into the main event picture.
As for Nogueira, he will return to the Octagon at UFC Rio, where he will take on heavyweight prospect, Brendan Schaub.
UFC 131 takes place on June 11, live from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
During the past few months, many of the UFC’s top fighters have been plagued by injuries, the latest being light heavyweight champion and Greg Jackson prodigy, Jon Jones. The highly anticipated bout between two former friends, Rashad Evans and Jo…
During the past few months, many of the UFC’s top fighters have been plagued by injuries, the latest being light heavyweight champion and Greg Jackson prodigy, Jon Jones.
The highly anticipated bout between two former friends, Rashad Evans and Jon Jones, has been postponed due to Jones getting injured during training when he tore a ligament in his right hand.
Evans’ last scheduled bout with then-champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was also postponed when Rua was injured during training. Evans chose to wait for Rua to heal and for his shot at regaining the light UFC heavyweight title, a decision that he has come to regret.
This time, while not a title shot, Evans will not be waiting on his opponent as the undefeated and very hungry, Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis steps up to replace the champion in what could be a three-round war between two of the sport’s best wrestlers.
While Evans and Jones continue their newfound grudge via Twitter, Davis is focused on only one thing: his fight with Evans at UFC 133.
Stepping up and seizing the opportunity is nothing new to Davis. He stepped up to replace Tito Ortiz in his last fight against former PRIDE fighter, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira also known as, “Little Nog”. Davis beat Nogueria by unanimous decision, controlling him with his superior wrestling.
According to Eric Fontanez at MMA Weekly, Davis is preparing for a battle against an opponent of equal, if not better wrestling skills.
“He’s someone I should definitely be concerned about with my skill set…I expect a pretty good fight,” Davis said.
“I invite the opportunity to face someone of his level of wrestling and I think I’ll be fine.”
Regardless of Evans’ wrestling ability, Davis plans on controlling the fight.
“I like to think I’m going to be the one controlling the pace of any fight,” he said. “And I don’t think this will be any different.
“I will take this fight wherever it wants to go.”
Even though Davis is undefeated, he will be facing an experienced former champion with only one loss on his record and who has been in deep water before.
Considering each of these great athletes wrestling experience, this fight could turn out to be a high-paced wrestling match. Regardless, Davis is facing the biggest test and challenge of his career.
For Davis, it’s just another opportunity, one that leads to a light heavyweight title shot and one he doesn’t plan on losing.
“Losing was never something I planned on doing.”
Davis told MMA Heat’s Karyn Bryant that it makes no difference to him who he fights.
“To me it’s not about fighting people. I don’t care if you can beat this guy or that guy. I want to have the belt.”
The guillotine choke, named after the decapitation device, is a common front choke utilized by a number of martial arts.If you do not protect your neck carefully, especially when shooting in for a takedown, the guillotine choke is one of the quickest w…
The guillotine choke, named after the decapitation device, is a common front choke utilized by a number of martial arts.
If you do not protect your neck carefully, especially when shooting in for a takedown, the guillotine choke is one of the quickest ways to lose a fight.
Some fighters, like Sean Sherk, seem to have a supernatural ability to withstand the choke, but never underestimate an opponent’s guillotine ability.
Most fighters must concede defeat immediately when the choke begins relieving them of their consciousness, but still some, like many on this list, cannot succumb soon enough to avoid the results of being put to sleep.
According to an unconfirmed report on sportsnet.ca, Brendan Schaub and Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira have verbally agreed to a fight at UFC 134.Brendan Schaub (8-1) is currently on a four-fight winning streak. In his last fight, he knocked out one of th…
According to an unconfirmed report on sportsnet.ca, Brendan Schaub and Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira have verbally agreed to a fight at UFC 134.
Brendan Schaub (8-1) is currently on a four-fight winning streak. In his last fight, he knocked out one of the best heavyweight strikers of all time, Mirko Cro Cop.
Prior to that, he won a unanimous decision over one-time title challenger, Gabriel Gonzaga.
Minotauro Nogueira (32-6-1 [1 NC]) hasn’t been in the Octagon since suffering his first knockout loss at the hands of current heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez, back in February of 2010.
Nogueira is a legend who has been around this sport for more than a decade. Nogueira has had wars with some of the best in MMA, such as Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture, Fabricio Werdum and many, many more.
Schaub had been lobbying hard for this fight, and he wanted the chance to add another legend’s name to his resume. He asked to go into Brazil and fight a fan favorite in Nogueira.
We can only hope that he gets what he wants, because this fight would be incredible.
Nostalgia can be a funny thing.It plays with the senses, confounds reason, and clouds memory. Like a drug, it impairs proper judgement and good sense in favour of a high that’s progressively harder and harder to achieve.In combat sports, nostalgia is a…
Nostalgia can be a funny thing.
It plays with the senses, confounds reason, and clouds memory. Like a drug, it impairs proper judgement and good sense in favour of a high that’s progressively harder and harder to achieve.
In combat sports, nostalgia is a fun, almost vital part of the fan experience. No sport fosters an emotional fan connection like one-on-one fighting, and that’s a connection that can stay strong in the face of time’s cruel onward march. Time and again, we forget the obvious realities of the fight game while we rally once again around a beloved fight or fighter.
Most of the time, when it comes to fighting, nostalgia is like pissing your pants: sure, it feels all warm and fuzzy while it’s happening, but once it’s over you’re left with a big mess, and an even bigger embarrassment.
Recently, there’s been a lot of talk surrounding a possible rematch between Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira at UFC 134 in Brazil. That isn’t really a surprise to me as both men are some of the most legendary figures in all the sport. Their names in a headline will, for good or ill, get fans talking.
No, what surprises me is that the reaction has been largely positive. As in, people actually want to see this fight happen.
So I’m going to go ahead and throw a cold glass of water on those (potential) plans before the sport of MMA finds itself once again with a spreading stain on its pants and an embarrassed look on its face.
I can already hear the howls of the MMA faithful as they pour out of the woodwork to burn me in effigy. How dare I desecrate the names of two of PRIDE’s greatest legends! In fact, if MMA hardcores had a “holy trinity” it would be these two men along with Wanderlei Silva (Fedor having been excommunicated to the M-1 underworld).
But beyond rabid fandom, there is a legitimate argument being put forward for making this fight.
“Both guys are old and past their moment,” the argument goes, “so why not have them square off now in a fun, just for the hell of it fight? What’s the harm?”
It’s ironic, because just last weekend MMA fans were railing against the perceived pointlessness of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley fight. And now, within the space of a few days, here they are calling for a fight that has “pointless” written all over it.
I realize the analogy isn’t a perfect one. Manny Pacquiao is by no means over the hill, and any PPV with his name on it—be it Pacquiao vs. Jose Canseco, Pacquiao vs. Zulu, even Pacquiao vs. His inner doubt—is a cultural event.
But Shane Mosley certainly is. And the perception of this fight from fans top to bottom was that it was a “keep busy” fight, a filler fight for Pac-Man in lieu of a serious, actual, Floyd Mayweather-inclusive fight.
In other words, barring a fluke Mosley win, it was utterly pointless. Boxing fans accepted it, but MMA fans were livid. To paraphrase Gus Johnson, such things don’t happen in MMA.
Yet here we are, talking about dragging a bell-rung and injury plagued Nogueira out for another dance with Mirko Cro Cop’s ghost. I think a large part of this has to do with how unbelievably awesome their first fight was, back in the halcyon days of PRIDE. If you’ve never seen it, then for God’s sake stop reading this article and go watch it! Few fights in all of combat sports have ever been so emotional and dramatic.
In fact, if you had to judge based on this fight alone, you’d be forced to to conclude that Antonio Nogueira is one of the baddest men who ever lived.
And he is. So is Mirko, for that matter. But their moment has passed, and the magic of their first clash will never be duplicated.
Look at what made their first fight so exciting: Mirko’s incredible striking and Antonio’s cast iron chin.
Today, Mirko’s striking consists of high-fiving Pat Barry and absolutely refusing to pull the trigger, while Nog’s iron chin is a thing of the past. In two of his last three, “Minotauro” has been knocked cold by guys who had a reputation for “pillow-fists” BEFORE their fight with him.
Call me crazy, but that doesn’t exactly seem like a recipe for a fun rematch. Instead, it looks like the makings of a classic fistic disaster.
My grandfather served in the air force in the Second World War. My friend’s grandfather served in a similar position in the German Luftwaffe. If they ever actually fought, I guarantee their battle was dramatic, emotional, scary, and pulse-pounding every single second.
If they fought again today, it would be two old men circling each other, tentatively poking each other with their canes.
That’s not a fight I want to see. And neither is Mirko Cro Cop vs. Minotauro Nogueira II.
The arm-triangle choke is one of the most devastating submission finishes in MMA because often times the choke victim has no idea that they have even been put into a bad position until their consciousness starts rapidly evacuating.
Once the hold is…
The arm-triangle choke is one of the most devastating submission finishes in MMA because often times the choke victim has no idea that they have even been put into a bad position until their consciousness starts rapidly evacuating.
Once the hold is secured, and the fighter applying the choke is free of guard and in side control, there is practically no escape.
Some fighters have become adept at getting out of solid chokes like guillotines and triangle chokes.
Like the rear naked choke, however, an arm-triangle is nearly inescapable when properly applied.
There are some variations of the arm-triangle choke, like the Anaconda (Brabo) choke and the D’arce choke, that are very similar, but do not count for the purposes of this list.
These are the 10 best in MMA history. When will we see the next one?
It appears that not everyone associated in mixed martial arts was aware of Shane Carwin stepping in to replace Brock Lesnar at UFC 131, including UFC heavyweight, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.