All fighters age. Sometimes, even those in their prime lose a step or are unable to compete with today’s blend of diverse mixed martial artists. In fact, the following men—Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira…
All fighters age. Sometimes, even those in their prime lose a step or are unable to compete with today’s blend of diverse mixed martial artists. In fact, the following men—Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua—represent a group of fighters who at multiple points experienced greatness in the forms of championship titles and numerous other accolades.
However, in their last four bouts, the fighters in question collectively hold a record of 4-16. Their wide array of losses not only jeopardizes their ranking but their possible standing in the UFC as well.
Surging UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson absolutely steamrolled former PRIDE star Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on Fox 12 last night, requiring a measly 44 seconds to put the Brazilian’s lights out.
As fight fans have come to exp…
Surging UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson absolutely steamrolled former PRIDE star Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on Fox 12 last night, requiring a measly 44 seconds to put the Brazilian’s lights out.
As fight fans have come to expect, Rumble came out swinging with bad intentions from the opening bell and didn’t stop until he landed some vicious uppercuts against the cage.
The Blackzilians team standout has now rattled off eight consecutive victories (seven knockouts) since being cut from the UFC in January 2012 after missing weight and then being submitted by Vitor Belfort at UFC 142.
Heading into the matchup with Nogueira, Johnson was ranked the No. 5 light heavyweight in the world, according to the UFC’s official rankings, though that may change after the rankings are updated tomorrow.
While UFC President Dana White was undoubtedly impressed with Johnson’s quick, brutal knockout victory, he’d still like to see the 30-year-old slugger win one more fight before he enters the title conversation, per Steven Marrocco and John Morgan of MMAjunkie.
As for Nogueira, the highly regarded Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is now just 2-3 in his past five fights and was on the shelf for 16 months due to various injuries before the loss to Rumble.
In fairness, it’s possible Little Nog has a fight or two left in him. He notched back-to-back wins over former light heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans prior to his loss Saturday.
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was initially scheduled to rematch rival Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 178 in September, but a knee injury now has “Bones” squaring off with unbeaten contender Daniel Cormier, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
Given that Johnson has proven he’s one of the most dangerous UFC fighters at 205 pounds, what matchup makes the most sense for him next?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
Well then. That didn’t go very well.
After 18 months of waiting to get back into the Octagon, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira might as well have stayed home. In less than a minute on Saturday night in San Jose, California, he went from still in the mix at 38 …
Well then. That didn’t go very well.
After 18 months of waiting to get back into the Octagon, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira might as well have stayed home. In less than a minute on Saturday night in San Jose, California, he went from still in the mix at 38 years old to slumped on the canvas, an afterthought in the reinvention of Anthony Johnson.
It’s hard to know what to offer the veteran in terms of a new opponent, as he’s still ranked highly but is pretty clearly not the man he was in his prime. Here are a few possibilities:
Phil Davis
Johnson’s last victim didn’t lose so explosively, but he’s in a similar position to Nogueira: floating around the middle of the Top 10 with no particular mobility in any direction. From the perspective of the UFC, however, Phil Davis has a lot more years left to contend and the matchup is favorable to him, so the company might be into it.
On the flip side, if Nog Lite can best an athletic wrestler at this stage in the game, perhaps he’s got more left than anyone believes. It’s a low-risk, high-reward tilt for him when one considers how things went on Saturday and what the odds would be for him against Davis.
Shogun Rua
Nogueira is walking a similar path to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua these days as a warrior from Pride who’s been great for a long time but may be getting close to the end of the road. They also fought back in those prime days with Rua coming out on top in an iconic war, and it’s one that many have been keen to see again ever since.
The UFC has shared that enthusiasm, trying to book it a few times before having it derailed by injury. With neither man influencing much in the division these days, this is the exact type of bout that could bolster a pay-per-view late this year or headline a Fight Night card.
Glover Teixeira
Glover Teixeira is coming off a loss to Jon Jones, but that shouldn’t blemish anyone’s resume considering the talents of the champ. That said, he needs a fight to get back into the swing of things, and Nogueira fits that bill.
Both men are in their 30s and have strong boxing foundations. Teixeira is perhaps more wrestler than jiu-jitsu ace, while Nogueira is the inverse, so any element of ground fighting that could take place would be an interesting viewing as well.
With most of the Top 10 at 205 either tied up, injured or otherwise unavailable, this is the type of combative marriage that could make a lot of sense.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira believes his bout with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson at UFC on Fox 12 is the “perfect matchup” to reintroduce himself as one of the premier contenders at 205 pounds.
After being sidelined for over a year with…
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira believes his bout with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson at UFC on Fox 12 is the “perfect matchup” to reintroduce himself as one of the premier contenders at 205 pounds.
After being sidelined for over a year with a lingering back injury, the MMA legend will make his long-awaited UFC return on Saturday night at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. When speaking with Bleacher Report, the man known as “Lil Nog” could hardly contain his excitement to finally be able to fight again.
“Yes, [I am] 100 percent,” Nogueira said through an interpreter over the phone. “I’m very, very happy to be back. I trained really well for this fight. MMA is everything in my career, and one year is much too long for being not present and I’m super happy that I’m going to get to perform against a great fighter.”
On the surface, UFC on Fox 12 looks to be all about the No. 1 contender’s bout between top welterweights Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown, but a closer look will reveal the potential title implications for the winner of Johnson vs. Nogueira as well.
Johnson, who is currently on a seven-fight win streak, is coming off a stunning upset victory over Phil Davis at UFC 172. Meanwhile, Nogueira has back-to-back wins over former UFC champions Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz.
“We’re both right up there on the list, and there’s a possibility of thinking about it. I hope I’m the next title shot contender,” Nogueira said.
With Alexander Gustafsson battling a knee injury, there is always the possibility that the winner of Nogueira and Johnson leapfrogs to the forefront of the title picture. But for now, it’s all about taking things in stride and focusing on Johnson for Nogueira.
The maturity and growth of Johnson has been truly astonishing. Initially, he was considered a bit of a nomad in the sport, drifting and competing in various weight classes. But a newfound dedication to training after being cut by the UFC back in January 2012 has transformed the 30-year-old fighter into a legitimate dark horse in the light heavyweight division.
After witnessing him rout a top contender like Davis, even Nogueira admits to being impressed with the improvements made by Johnson.
“Yea, I watched [his fight with Davis] a few times. I was very impressed with his endurance and that he fought from the beginning to the end without gassing,” said Nogueira.
There are various levels of intrigue involved in this particular style matchup.
Nogueira, who has proved throughout his career to be a very proficient boxer, will have his hands full dealing with Johnson’s one-punch knockout power. There is also the threat of the takedown. Despite his vastly improved striking, Johnson’s wrestling remains one of the best weapons in his arsenal.
Nogueira did a tremendous job of shutting down Evans’ wrestling and besting the stand-up exchanges a little over a year ago. Not only does he hope to build on that performance against Johnson, but he’s also hoping to get a finish this time around.
“It’s a perfect matchup for me. I prepared myself even much better for [Johnson than I did Evans],” said Nogueira. “I’m going to submit him.”
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
UFC on Fox 12 gets underway this Saturday with a big main event in the welterweight division.
No. 1-ranked contender Robbie Lawler takes on No. 5-ranked Matt Brown. The winner will likely receive the next title shot against champion Johny Hendricks.
Th…
UFC on Fox 12 gets underway this Saturday with a big main event in the welterweight division.
No. 1-ranked contender Robbie Lawler takes on No. 5-ranked Matt Brown. The winner will likely receive the next title shot against champion Johny Hendricks.
The four-fight main card gets underway at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
What value is there on the main card? That is what we will look at. We will supply you with information to help you make better decisions when it comes to what fights you should make a play on. After all, not every fight is worth it.
Let’s have a look at the odds for Saturday’s exciting bouts.
It’s hard to know when it’s time to quit sometimes. Most of us can likely remember a few instances when it would have been wise to let discretion get the better of valor.
Still, you trudge on anyway because it’s all you know, and it sometimes takes hin…
It’s hard to know when it’s time to quit sometimes. Most of us can likely remember a few instances when it would have been wise to let discretion get the better of valor.
Still, you trudge on anyway because it’s all you know, and it sometimes takes hindsight to realize the right extraction point in a given situation.
Mixed martial artists, though they exceed the average person in most measurable skills related to fighting in a cage, suffer the same issue on occasion.
They don’t know when to quit. They’re thinking about that next opponent when they should be thinking about retirement.
Here are five bouts that should have been a fighter’s last, because he couldn’t go out any better than he would have that night; however, he kept fighting because he couldn’t see that fact until it was too late.
Well then. That didn’t go very well.