UFC Fight Night 39 took place in Abu Dhabi. The stage was built specifically for the event, and it was capped off with a big knockout win from Roy Nelson.
The eight-fight card delivered quality action for an afternoon card.
Sometimes it is a struggle t…
UFC Fight Night 39 took place in AbuDhabi. The stage was built specifically for the event, and it was capped off with a big knockout win from Roy Nelson.
The eight-fight card delivered quality action for an afternoon card.
Sometimes it is a struggle to take something away from these event cards. However, the event from AbuDhabi did give us something to think about following all of the action.
It was a good way to spend a Friday afternoon and still allowed you to enjoy the weekend without a fight card at night.
Roy Nelson may never be regarded among the UFC’s heavyweight elite, but at 37 years old he’s still the perfect man to guard the door.
With his long hair braided primly at the base of his skull and the ever-present (but shrinking?) padding around his mi…
Roy Nelson may never be regarded among the UFC’s heavyweight elite, but at 37 years old he’s still the perfect man to guard the door.
With his long hair braided primly at the base of his skull and the ever-present (but shrinking?) padding around his midsection, he certainly looked the part of gatekeeper on Friday against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Nelson’s approach is one-dimensional and ponderous, but he remains a tough out for anyone in the division. The best fighters can outmaneuver him, foiling his head-down power punches with better technique and superior strategy, but even for them it can be a painstaking and difficult process.
If you’re not one of the UFC’s top 265-pounders? Yeah, he’s probably going to knock you out.
Such was Nogueira’s fate at Fight Night 39. The aging former Pride titlist and UFC interim champion had the right idea against Nelson, but lacked the physical wherewithal to complete the task, falling victim to a thunderous and frightening KO three-and-a-half minutes into the first round.
A submission master once renowned for his boxing, Nogueira came out of his corner with a game plan that had been successful against Big Country in the past. He moved forward, trying to thwart Nelson’s murderous right hand with pressure and an active jab.
It was a good concept, and it worked for all of 56 seconds before Nelson floored him with an uppercut and a winging overhand right. The obstinate Brazilian stuck around for another 2:40, but Nelson had already developed a taste for it. He was just going to keep slinging those rights until Nogueira caught a bad case of rigor mortis. Eventually, that’s exactly what happened.
After back-to-back losses in his most recent appearances, the walk-off win proved that Nelson continues to lord over a very important fork in the heavyweight road. A fight against him is the perfect way to see if an old lion still has it, to forge instant contenders, or turn away the unworthy.
Fighters the ilk of Junior dos Santos, StipeMiocic and Fabricio Werdum have emerged from their tests against Nelson ready for A-list matchups.
Guys like Dave Herman, Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo were judged and found wanting.
Now, Nogueira, too, has received painful notice that he no longer belongs with the upper crust and that perhaps he’s overstayed his welcome.
For Big Nog, this loss seemed to have an immediate chilling effect. He’s just 3-5 since winning the interim UFC title in February 2008, and all of those losses have come by first- or second-round stoppage.
Nogueira had his moments in this fight, but the overall impression was one of a heavyweight well into his decline. He gave his best years to Pride, and was already 35 fights into his career before arriving in the Octagon in 2007. Now 37, his management says he’d still like to take on Frank Mir a third time before hanging up the gloves, but even they concede that the end is probably near.
It says something about the standing of both these guys that Nelson’s win merely reaffirmed his position as heavyweight key master. His next fight figures to be more relevant to the 265-pound top 10, but at this point it seems reasonable to assume he’ll always have to battle and scrap to hold his place.
Nothing wrong with that. He’s a worthy litmus test for up-and-comers and a dangerous draw for veterans out to prove they still belong.
He’s probably never going to be champion, but anybody who wants to get there is still going to have to go through him.
Roy Nelson knocked Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira out cold in the main event of UFC Fight Night 39. It was not a shocking result, but it was certainly a sad one.
No one likes to see legends go out like that, but it was evident from the outset that the outcom…
Roy Nelson knocked Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira out cold in the main event of UFC Fight Night 39. It was not a shocking result, but it was certainly a sad one.
No one likes to see legends go out like that, but it was evident from the outset that the outcome was likely. Nogueira was slow and plodding. He was no threat to take the fight to the mat. Nelson has good technique in his hands, but more important in this scenario was the power he possesses.
Nelson starched the longtime great.
“Big Country” got a much-needed result while putting down the legend.
Pre-Fight
The announcers tried to put over how good Nogueira was feeling leading up to this fight, but it was clear that he is not the same fighter he was before. Nothing about him entering this fight gave anyone hope that it would be competitive.
Round 1
Nogueira tried to utilize his jab and push Nelson backward. Nelson circled well. He dropped the legend not once but twice before delivering the final KO blow.
Nogueira was never a threat in the bout. Nelson simply took his time. When the moment finally arrived, he pasted Nogueira with a patented overhand right that sent the Brazilian down for good. Thankfully, Big Country did not follow up with strikes.
Post-Fight
The medical staff and officials gathered around Nogueira, while Big Country celebrated his knockout performance. This big win for Nelson inches him closer to being back in the spot he wants to be in the heavyweight division.
On a steamy night in Abu Dhabi, Minotauro Nogueira tried to eat a Roy Nelson right hand. Many before him have as well; most have been roughly as successful as Nogueira was.
That isn’t to say that the legend couldn’t eat the punch at all, ending up stif…
On a steamy night in AbuDhabi, Minotauro Nogueira tried to eat a Roy Nelson right hand. Many before him have as well; most have been roughly as successful as Nogueira was.
That isn’t to say that the legend couldn’t eat the punch at all, ending up stiffened on the canvas while his portly foe celebrated another violent victory.
There’s no shame in losing to Nelson, particularly in a way that’s become his patent in recent years. There’s even less shame in it when you’re a man like Nogueira, who has built a legacy that will outlive his career in the cage and, should MMA continue to expand, perhaps his time on this planet.
Though he’s clearly lost a step and this was a fight he desperately needed if he was going to make his last stand, it’s likely time to accept two things: He isn’t going to be playing this game much longer, and that’s OK because the sport had him while he was at his best.
The sport had him when he was routing the generation of legends that came before him, choking out Gary Goodridge and EnsonInoue in PRIDE.
The sport had him when he was snapping Bob Sapp’s arm at a time when people still felt like that kind of meant something.
The sport had him in his trilogy with fellow icon FedorEmelianenko, a man still responsible for a quarter of Nogueira’s losses even now, a decade after they last met.
The sport even had him when it was entering a new era, one where he finished Tim Sylvia out of nowhere to become a UFC champion and later put on one of the best three-round fights in heavyweight history against Randy Couture.
The sport had him when it mattered. It still has him, and only he knows how much longer that will be the case, but he gave so much during that stretch that the years since have basically been gravy.
The calls are surely coming for him to retire, for him to give up the sport that has defined him as a man and allowed him to create that legacy that anyone would be proud of. Unfortunately, if you’re him, it’s not that easy to give up on, and if you’re anyone else, it’s not your place to make him do so.
He’s a grown man, and he’ll make his choices, just as he’s chosen to get up so many times when he was knocked down, to fight on so many times when the world thought he couldn’t throw another punch.
Minotauro Nogueira has slowed. He’s not the same man that he was in his physical prime, because he devoted that prime to the type of fearless combat not often displayed since the days of men conquering entire segments of the globe. For a long time, MMA thought him indestructible, but his late career is proving otherwise.
His legacy, though? That’s as indestructible as any the sport will ever know and, regardless of his next step, mixed martial arts is better for that.
And so, Big Country snaps a two-fight losing streak, and claims his seventh knockout victory in the UFC. Meanwhile, Nogueira has lost four out of his last six fights, and public calls for his retirement will surely pop again. (We’d support that, by the way.)
Check out full results from UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi after the jump. If you watched the event on Fight Pass, please share your thoughts in the comments section.
And so, Big Country snaps a two-fight losing streak, and claims his seventh knockout victory in the UFC. Meanwhile, Nogueira has lost four out of his last six fights, and public calls for his retirement will surely pop again. (We’d support that, by the way.)
Check out full results from UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi after the jump. If you watched the event on Fight Pass, please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Main Card
Roy Nelson def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via KO, 3:37 of round 1
Clay Guida def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Ryan LaFlare def. John Howard via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Ramsey Nijem def. Beneil Dariush via TKO, 4:20 of round 1
Preliminary Card
Jared Rosholt def. Daniel Omielanczuk via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Thales Leites def. Trevor Smith via TKO, 0:45 of round 1
Jim Alers def. Alan Omer via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Johnny Bedford vs. Rani Yahya ruled No Contest (Yahya was KO’d by accidental headbutt) at 0:39 of round 1
Roy Nelson knocked Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira out cleanly in the first round of their heavyweight main event.
Nogueira was a sitting duck for Nelson’s boxing, and “Minotauro” was dropped twice prior to the final KO blow. Nelson knew that Nogueira was hu…
Roy Nelson knocked Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira out cleanly in the first round of their heavyweight main event.
Nogueira was a sitting duck for Nelson’s boxing, and “Minotauro” was dropped twice prior to the final KO blow. Nelson knew that Nogueira was hurt, exhibited patience and finally delivered the huge overhand right that connected flush.
It was a difficult for longtimeMMAfans to watch a legend such as Nogueira suffer a brutal KO, but all the credit goes to Nelson. He needed a showing like that and got it.
This is what we learned from the UFC Fight Night 39 main event on Friday.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
The KO—plain and simple.
Nogueira had been stopped by strikes before—by Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir—but he had never been starched. Now he has.
The final KO blow sent Nogueira down like a sack of potatoes. It was a brutal finish but a sad one. It is tough to see legends go out like that.
What We Learned About Roy Nelson
Nothing.
It is tough to say that, but we didn’t learn anything that we didn’t already know about “Big Country.” A walking mummy was standing across from him, and he obliterated it.
We already knew he has a devastating overhand right. He didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. He just took care of business.
Hopefully we learn more about Nelson in his next outing in the UFC.
What We Learned About Minotauro Nogueira
We learned that he should retire. He is old and slow.
The fight clock was a countdown to his extinction as a professional fighter. He was fodder for Nelson.
It was obvious this was a horrible matchup for him, and it was clear as day that it was only a matter of time before Nelson connected with heavy strikes to finish the bout. It happened. It happened brutally.
It’s time to send Nogueira out to pasture.
What’s Next for Roy Nelson
Josh Barnett.
The top of the heavyweight division looks to be set for the foreseeable future, and this fight would put the winner in contention for later in 2014 or early 2015. Not only that, but the fight would be an excellent co-main event.
Barnett and Nelson’s contrasting styles would make for a fascinating fight. That is what we are looking for from the UFC’s heavyweights.
Joe Silva should try to book this fight as soon as possible.
What’s Next for Minotauro Nogueira
I could act as if Nogueira will return and drop a name or two, but what’s next should be retirement.
He is not relevant; he’s old and slow. He has nothing left to prove. A return to the cage would be a terrible idea. He should retire.
Serving as a coach and ambassador should be his next role.
Roy Nelson may never be regarded among the UFC’s heavyweight elite, but at 37 years old he’s still the perfect man to guard the door.