MrPerfect
MuscleChemistry Guru
Antônio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira and his twin brother began their martial arts training in judo at the age of five in Brazil.
When he was only eleven years old, Minotauro suffered a life threatening injury. He was playing in the street with his brother and some friends when, in his own words, "a truck came in reverse gear and threw me on the ground, passing over my body slowly. My brother Rogerio tried to pull me but he couldn't. I only had time to move my head off the wheel and felt that weight squeezing my chest."
He suffered a broken leg and his liver was perforated by one of his ribs. His diaphragm was also injured, so he was hooked up to a breathing machine once he arrived at the hospital. He spent four days in a coma and almost a year in the hospital before being released. He lost two ribs, his spleen, and part of his liver due to the accident, and still bears a noticeable indentation on his back.
At fourteen years old, Minotauro began training in Boxing. At eighteen, a friend invited him to participate in his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class, where Minotauro realized the power of BJJ when he was finished by someone about 40 pounds lighter. He excelled at BJJ, winning Brazilian championships at the blue belt and brown belt level. In 1999, less than five years after starting his BJJ training, Minotauro earned his black belt. In the same year, he earned his black belt in Judo.
Armed with two black belts and an indomitable heart, Big Nog began his MMA career in the United States at WEF 6. He submitted his opponent with a kimura and would submit his next three MMA opponents in less than two minutes each. Nogueira decided to dedicate himself to MMA, taking up wrestling and muay thai to supplement his skills.
His first loss would come in the Rings King of Kings tournament in 1999 to eventual champion Dan Henderson. But he would get his revenge. In 2000, Big Nog won Ring's 32 man King of Kings tournament, featuring fighters such as Randy Couture, Renato Sobral, Ricardo Arona, and Fedor Emelianenko.
Minotauro joined Brazilian Top Team and was signed by PRIDE after winning the tournament. His first opponent was Gary Goodridge, who he quickly submitted. Next up was Mark Coleman, a former UFC HW champion and the 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix champion. Nogueira submitted him in the first round.
The victory earned him a title shot against Heath Herring. After 20 minutes in the ring with Herring, Minotauro became PRIDE's first HW champion.
While winning the belt was a huge accomplishment, it was his victory over Bob Sapp that made Big Nog an idol in Japan. Sapp used his 100 pound weight advantage to manhandle Nogueira for the vast majority of the fight, slamming him head first into the canvas at one point. But Minotauro never gave up, and secured an arm bar in the second round.
In his next fight, Minotauro avenged the only loss of his MMA career, bringing his record to 19-1-1. The PRIDE HW champion seemed unbeatable.
Enter Fedor. If it wasn't for Fedor Emelianenko, Minotauro would be considered the best pound for pound fighter in the world and the greatest fighter of all time. The only fighter who he's fought and hasn't beat is Fedor. The only man to ever win a unanimous decision against Nogueira is Fedor. In Emelianenko, Big Nog had finally met his match.
The fight was a grueling 20 minute bout for Minotauro, who attempted submission after submission, but Emeliananko always found a way to power his way out. Fedor spent the majority of the fight in the most dangerous guard in MMA, and came away with the victory. Fedor had shocked the world.
But Nogueira's MMA career was far from over. His first fight after the loss was a very close decision victory over former UFC HW champion Ricco Rodriguez. Next he fought Cro Cop, who destroyed him on the feet. But as he has done so many times in his life, Nogueira persevered. He finished Cro Cop with a beautiful arm bar in round two.
Minotauro entered the 2004 HW Grand Prix with both belts in his sights. He defeated Hirotaka Yokoi and Heath Herring by anaconda choke, and outboxed Sergei Kharitonov to earn his place in the finals against Fedor.
But the title fight would end anticlimactically when Fedor cut his forehead from an accidental headbutt. For the rematch, Nogueira came in with an improved gameplan, but he couldn't stop Fedor. Their third fight went a lot like their first fight, with Fedor winning by unanimous decision.
Nogueira had hit a roadblock. He was clearly one of the greatest HWs in the world, but Fedor, who held the belt, was his kryptonite. He picked up a couple more wins in PRIDE before entering the 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix.
With Fedor injured, the GP was Minotauro's shot to claim another title and force another rematch with Emelianenko. He submitted Zulu in the first round and beat Werdum by decision in the second round. His next opponent was Josh Barnett, who beat him in an exciting but controversial split decision. The title had eluded Big Nog again.
But Minotauro got his revenge, defeating Barnett by unanimous decision in his next fight.
A few months after the second Barnett fight, PRIDE was purchased by the UFC. Minotauro signed with Zuffa and expressed his excitement to show American MMA fans his submission skills.
Before his first UFC fight, Big Nog severted ties with Brazilian Top Team and joined Black House in Brazil, where he trained with Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, and many other great mixed martial artists. Earlier this year, he left Black House and opened his own gym in Miami with Anderson Silva.
In his first UFC fight, Big Nog was matched up against Heath Herring, who he had already defeated twice. Dana white claimed that this fight was made because the first two contests were entertaining, but many people thought it was made because the UFC wanted a sure thing after a year of tumultuous upsets. What happened in the first round shocked everybody, including Heath Herring. Big Nog, whose chin is legendary, was dropped by a head kick. But he recovered as Herring failed to capitalize. Minotauro won the next two rounds and the decision.
After Couture defeated Gonzaga, a fight between him and Nogueira for the title seemed inevitable. But Couture left the UFC in search of a bigger paycheck and a fight with Fedor. In Couture's absence, Big Nog was matched up against Tim Sylvia for the interim belt.
Not surprisingly, Sylvia utilized his incredible reach to pepper Big Nog with punches. Despite Nogueira's years of boxing training, Sylvia's reach was too much for him to overcome. Sylvia looked to be on his way to another UFC belt until Nogueira pulled guard. Just 45 seconds after the fight hit the ground, Sylvia was tapping out to a guillotine. Once again, Minotauro was the HW champion of the most prestigious MMA organization in the world.
After beating Sylvia, Nogueira agreed to be a coach on season eight of The Ultimate Fighter along with Frank Mir. On the reality show, he has come across as a friendly, caring person, and an all-around nice guy. His stint on TUF has undoubtedly earned him thousands of new fans. Nogueira will defend his belt against Mir December 27th at UFC 92.
The primary reason that Nogueira has had such a successful MMA career is that his great chin and incredible heart always seem to keep him in the fight long enough to score a submission. He has one of the most dangerous guards in MMA, and his boxing is technically sound and very underrated. Nogueira has one of the most impressive lists of victims in MMA, he hasn't been finished in 36 fights, and he has only fought one man that he hasn't defeated. The man is an MMA legend.
When he was only eleven years old, Minotauro suffered a life threatening injury. He was playing in the street with his brother and some friends when, in his own words, "a truck came in reverse gear and threw me on the ground, passing over my body slowly. My brother Rogerio tried to pull me but he couldn't. I only had time to move my head off the wheel and felt that weight squeezing my chest."
He suffered a broken leg and his liver was perforated by one of his ribs. His diaphragm was also injured, so he was hooked up to a breathing machine once he arrived at the hospital. He spent four days in a coma and almost a year in the hospital before being released. He lost two ribs, his spleen, and part of his liver due to the accident, and still bears a noticeable indentation on his back.
At fourteen years old, Minotauro began training in Boxing. At eighteen, a friend invited him to participate in his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class, where Minotauro realized the power of BJJ when he was finished by someone about 40 pounds lighter. He excelled at BJJ, winning Brazilian championships at the blue belt and brown belt level. In 1999, less than five years after starting his BJJ training, Minotauro earned his black belt. In the same year, he earned his black belt in Judo.
Armed with two black belts and an indomitable heart, Big Nog began his MMA career in the United States at WEF 6. He submitted his opponent with a kimura and would submit his next three MMA opponents in less than two minutes each. Nogueira decided to dedicate himself to MMA, taking up wrestling and muay thai to supplement his skills.
His first loss would come in the Rings King of Kings tournament in 1999 to eventual champion Dan Henderson. But he would get his revenge. In 2000, Big Nog won Ring's 32 man King of Kings tournament, featuring fighters such as Randy Couture, Renato Sobral, Ricardo Arona, and Fedor Emelianenko.
Minotauro joined Brazilian Top Team and was signed by PRIDE after winning the tournament. His first opponent was Gary Goodridge, who he quickly submitted. Next up was Mark Coleman, a former UFC HW champion and the 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix champion. Nogueira submitted him in the first round.
The victory earned him a title shot against Heath Herring. After 20 minutes in the ring with Herring, Minotauro became PRIDE's first HW champion.
While winning the belt was a huge accomplishment, it was his victory over Bob Sapp that made Big Nog an idol in Japan. Sapp used his 100 pound weight advantage to manhandle Nogueira for the vast majority of the fight, slamming him head first into the canvas at one point. But Minotauro never gave up, and secured an arm bar in the second round.
In his next fight, Minotauro avenged the only loss of his MMA career, bringing his record to 19-1-1. The PRIDE HW champion seemed unbeatable.
Enter Fedor. If it wasn't for Fedor Emelianenko, Minotauro would be considered the best pound for pound fighter in the world and the greatest fighter of all time. The only fighter who he's fought and hasn't beat is Fedor. The only man to ever win a unanimous decision against Nogueira is Fedor. In Emelianenko, Big Nog had finally met his match.
The fight was a grueling 20 minute bout for Minotauro, who attempted submission after submission, but Emeliananko always found a way to power his way out. Fedor spent the majority of the fight in the most dangerous guard in MMA, and came away with the victory. Fedor had shocked the world.
But Nogueira's MMA career was far from over. His first fight after the loss was a very close decision victory over former UFC HW champion Ricco Rodriguez. Next he fought Cro Cop, who destroyed him on the feet. But as he has done so many times in his life, Nogueira persevered. He finished Cro Cop with a beautiful arm bar in round two.
Minotauro entered the 2004 HW Grand Prix with both belts in his sights. He defeated Hirotaka Yokoi and Heath Herring by anaconda choke, and outboxed Sergei Kharitonov to earn his place in the finals against Fedor.
But the title fight would end anticlimactically when Fedor cut his forehead from an accidental headbutt. For the rematch, Nogueira came in with an improved gameplan, but he couldn't stop Fedor. Their third fight went a lot like their first fight, with Fedor winning by unanimous decision.
Nogueira had hit a roadblock. He was clearly one of the greatest HWs in the world, but Fedor, who held the belt, was his kryptonite. He picked up a couple more wins in PRIDE before entering the 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix.
With Fedor injured, the GP was Minotauro's shot to claim another title and force another rematch with Emelianenko. He submitted Zulu in the first round and beat Werdum by decision in the second round. His next opponent was Josh Barnett, who beat him in an exciting but controversial split decision. The title had eluded Big Nog again.
But Minotauro got his revenge, defeating Barnett by unanimous decision in his next fight.
A few months after the second Barnett fight, PRIDE was purchased by the UFC. Minotauro signed with Zuffa and expressed his excitement to show American MMA fans his submission skills.
Before his first UFC fight, Big Nog severted ties with Brazilian Top Team and joined Black House in Brazil, where he trained with Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, and many other great mixed martial artists. Earlier this year, he left Black House and opened his own gym in Miami with Anderson Silva.
In his first UFC fight, Big Nog was matched up against Heath Herring, who he had already defeated twice. Dana white claimed that this fight was made because the first two contests were entertaining, but many people thought it was made because the UFC wanted a sure thing after a year of tumultuous upsets. What happened in the first round shocked everybody, including Heath Herring. Big Nog, whose chin is legendary, was dropped by a head kick. But he recovered as Herring failed to capitalize. Minotauro won the next two rounds and the decision.
After Couture defeated Gonzaga, a fight between him and Nogueira for the title seemed inevitable. But Couture left the UFC in search of a bigger paycheck and a fight with Fedor. In Couture's absence, Big Nog was matched up against Tim Sylvia for the interim belt.
Not surprisingly, Sylvia utilized his incredible reach to pepper Big Nog with punches. Despite Nogueira's years of boxing training, Sylvia's reach was too much for him to overcome. Sylvia looked to be on his way to another UFC belt until Nogueira pulled guard. Just 45 seconds after the fight hit the ground, Sylvia was tapping out to a guillotine. Once again, Minotauro was the HW champion of the most prestigious MMA organization in the world.
After beating Sylvia, Nogueira agreed to be a coach on season eight of The Ultimate Fighter along with Frank Mir. On the reality show, he has come across as a friendly, caring person, and an all-around nice guy. His stint on TUF has undoubtedly earned him thousands of new fans. Nogueira will defend his belt against Mir December 27th at UFC 92.
The primary reason that Nogueira has had such a successful MMA career is that his great chin and incredible heart always seem to keep him in the fight long enough to score a submission. He has one of the most dangerous guards in MMA, and his boxing is technically sound and very underrated. Nogueira has one of the most impressive lists of victims in MMA, he hasn't been finished in 36 fights, and he has only fought one man that he hasn't defeated. The man is an MMA legend.
