Issue 147

November 2016

The attributes that made ‘Big Nog’ the best Brazilian heavyweight in mixed martial arts to date

Few fighters have had such iconic MMA careers as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. His 16 long, brutal, yet inspirational years in the world’s rings and cages were littered with outstanding submissions, unforgettable action and epic, come-from-behind victories. Not for nothing, he’s still regarded as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time and one of the most popular and influential mixed martial artists ever to come out of Brazil. But what were the skills and qualities that made him such an effective ring master?

Iron jaw

Before he met Frank Mir at UFC 92, ‘Big Nog’ fought professionally for nearly 10 years without getting knocked out. Not even high kicks from Mirko Cro Cop or ground ‘n’ pound from Fedor Emelianenko could crack his chin.

Heavy hands 

“But he only has three KOs,” you may cry. But while ‘Minotauro’s hands aren’t as accomplished as his twin, ‘Minotouro’, he hurt plenty of opponents with precision boxing to drop them and set them up for submissions.

No frills

Forget the rubber guard. Nogueira’s grappling wasn’t flashy, but it was effective. He had some of the best BJJ fundamentals in a ring or cage. And despite his ‘simple’ approach, he still got 21 submissions at the highest levels of MMA.

Giant heart 

He survived being run over by a truck when he was 10, so you can be damn sure something as trivial as a piledriver from 375lb Bob Sapp barely tickled ‘Minotauro’. He was a survivor and would not be broken.

Arm collector 

Asking Nogueira what his favorite submission is would probably like asking him to choose between his kids. But if we had to guess what he’d go to in a pinch, we’d have to say an armbar, because he ripped off 11 in his career.

Quicksand

Though he didn’t have a powerful wrestling game, Nogueira was an expert in getting people onto the mat and into his world. Even if his takedown failed, he could pull guard – then ruin his opponent’s day.