Issue 005

July 2005

Is Fedor Emelianenko a nightmare in your career? What can you tell us about your last fight? 

In the first round, he (Emelianenko) was better than me. I guess I need to train more and to change some planning aspects. At the start of the fight, he dictated the pace and got two or three good strikes in. The second round was more of a balanced fight but he got the advantage in the first round due to his throws. I believe he took me down six times. On the ground, he didn’t dominate me and on his feet, he was fast on the shoots and it confused me a little. I took Fedor down in round one, but time elapsed. Really, from the top position he has good defense and good attacks.

You have a weird stigma with Fedor. Every time you are on top, time elapses. It happened twice in the first match and once in your last encounter. 

Last time I got to mount him he was giving me the same position

that Mirko did when I submitted him, but it was for less than 40 seconds. Fedor has an internal clock in his mind. He puts himself in dangerous positions but only when it’s close to the end of the round so he can wait until the bell. The communication and interaction between Fedor and his corner was perfect.

You relied on and used many trainers for this fight. Do you think it was good or did it spoil your game? 

It only helped me. It’s better for me if I have friends by my side. It’s very helpful. The only thing that bothered me was his game. I am thankful for the help everyone gave me and I hope I can count on them next time.

Your first encounter with Emelianenko was a good fight. But how did you see that fight? 

Emelianenko was a machine, his game plan was to take me down and pound me. It worked, but he did not try to pass my guard or to submit me. He had a ground game like Mark Kerr had. I watched the tape and I think I fought him in a similiar way as I fought Mark Coleman who is also a ground ‘n’ pound type fighter. Against Coleman, I did not have injuries and was almost 100% healthy, but against Fedor I was really injured and my right leg was hurt badly. You can see that on the tape, I could not defend my right side and he got to hurt the right side of my face, while the left side was normal. I do not want to take away from what he did to me and make excuses like many fighters do, but I fought very badly on that night.

Did you think Emelianenko had a similar game plan as his other fights in Pride? 

He fought a controlled, balanced fight. He neutralized my triangle, armlock and shoulder-lock; if you watch it again you will see he came on and was aggressive at times but it was very controlled — not wild. He punched once, twice, three times then he would stop; he is really good with his punches, but he knew enough not to risk punching wildly.

How will 2005 be different for you? 

I need to take a rest. I expect to take six months off and then return to training. I was very stressed in my last fights because I trained a lot and my body wasn’t taking it well. After August in Saitama, I didn’t get to have any good workouts in October and November. My elbow was in bad shape and I should have had surgery, but I didn’t have time for it. Since December, I’ve recovered from my injuries. In my free time I planned my workouts better.

Your brother Rogerio Minotoro fought Dan Henderson in April at the Osaka Dome. What kind of support did you give him, since you faced Henderson twice in the past? 

We practiced the clinch and other wrestling techniques Henderson has some different turns and just when you think you have beaten him he reverses position. With my two fight experiences with Dan I supported Rogerio a lot during the fight.

What did you make of the fight?  

He fought pretty nice and he walked around Henderson in the correct way, so he escaped from his right hand, his main weapon and my brother got to land some good crosses on Henderson’s face. In my opinion, Minotoro dominated Henderson on his feet and Henderson just had two good moments during the fight.

Looking back at your career you had two epic battles at Pride. The first one against Bob Sapp and the second against Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic. In terms of emotion, which was the hardest, Bob Sapp or Filipovic? 

I look at them as two different moments for me, both good. Against Filipovic I also had the pleasure of the belt being on the line!

That fight was hell for you in R1. A lot of people didn’t hear the bell ring. When he knocked you down; they thought the referee was stopping the fight! 

The problem was when I heard the first bell (to mark 10 seconds left) I kind of relaxed and he kicked me!

What about his kicking? 

Really strong and fast. One day before the fight, Wanderlei told me that his rib kick was not too strong, he took it well. I agreed with him during the fight. He gave me two and I also had no problems, so I knew it was not going to knock me down, so I raised my hands in order to defend the head kick. At the end of the round, he pretended to hit my ribs and instead turned it into a strong head kick. I fell to the ground advising but I told the referee that I was okay.

Did you get nervous during that fight? 

No I was pretty calm. I never trained so hard in my life. Filipovic is a dangerous fighter. I got him in my guard in the beginning but I was afraid to open my guard. When I did, he escaped. He escaped from my game desperately and I couldn’t put him down again, so I faced him in his territory. He is one of the best strikers in the world. I knew that he would have the advantage in the stand-up. But, in less than one minute on the ground, I submitted him. It means I’m a more rounded fighter

than he is.

And the giant Bob Sapp, was he one of the toughest opponents of your career?

Due to his strength, that was a very tough fight. However, he wasn’t the most technical, or the best fighter who I’ve faced. Filipovic, Mark Coleman or Heath Herring were. Sapp is a hard guy to beat, but I was confident that I’d win. That pile driver was his strong weapon in that fight, and I didn’t fight well in first round due to that.

That pile driver early in R1 could kill you. Was that the worst moment for you in that fight, or did Sapp affect you in other ways? 

No doubt about it. His punches didn’t stun me because I’m used to training with hard punchers.

Besides that armbar, what defined the fight, did you feel there were other moments where you could have submitted him? 

I almost sunk a triangle on him, but he body-slammed me twice, and when I adjusted the position, he escaped with technique. I threw good combos. I’ve certainly got that, if I was heavier, he’d be KO’d with the straight punch I landed.

Did Pride matchmakers give you Sapp because you fought in UFO?

I don’t know, there are a lot of rumors in Japan about this. I’m the Pride heavyweight champion and I’m ready to face whoever it will be. I don’t choose my opponents.

Why did you fight in UFO? 

When I signed my contract with Pride in 2001 my

manager included that I could fight in UFO, or Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye in 2002. The Pride matchmakers were a bit concerned that I’d not be able to fight in Dynamite, but as everyone saw, I did. Also, I want to make it clear that I faced Sapp because nobody wanted to fight him at that time.

After the Sapp fight, Josh Barnett did step up to the ring at Pride Dynamite/ShockWave and challenged you. How did you face that? 

He challenged me at a time I did not expect, he challenged me and it was in the heat of the moment, so I did not understand what he said to me. After a few seconds, I found out what he had said but I did not believe it, because I had a chat with Barnett at breakfast in the hotel. And then he came at me with this challenge, I did not like his attitude. If he had spoken to me about this challenge during the morning, no problem. This is the game and the crowd likes to see that. We are young and we will face each other soon.

What did you think about Filipovic’s matches against Josh Barnett and Mark Coleman? 

There wasn’t really a fight between Barnett and Cro Cop (Filipovic). That fight didn’t finish. Barnett got injured and they didn’t develop the fight enough and nobody knows what should have happened. They may fight again. Cro Cop fought well against Mark Coleman. He sprawled, landed punches, and didn’t kick much.

While some Pride fighters coast along fighting against questionable opponents. You are not one of these guys, you are always facing top opponents. Can you explain this? 

I do not know. I’ve never been involved in mismatches. And I read that I had lost twice to Fedor Emelianenko because I had finally faced a real fighter and that my other opponents were nothing... I’ve always fought against tough fighters and I never took my opponent down and executed a ground ‘n’ pound. I fought for KOs, and submissions even though the fights did not always go my way I was always looking for those things and trying to make them happen.

Are you disappointed with these comments? 

I think the guys who say these things do not really understand the fight game. I always showed my best and I hope to continue fighting against high-level fighters.

In 2003 and 2004 you had several nagging injuries. Have you now fully recovered from these? 

I had injuries to my leg, shoulder, toe, elbow and back. My back

was hurt when I took the first fight against Emelianenko Fedor. I am okay right now and recovered.

Do you think that you should have refused some fights in the past two years to avoid these injuries? 

I am a fighter, I like to fight and I like to perform well. When I won those fights, I got pumped up, you know. I always liked to fight and I feel that a real fighter is one who honors his commitments. I did that, but now I need to slow down and think about my health and if I fight with injuries I may not give a good performance. My intention is to only fight when I can put in 100%.

Talk about the back injury - it seems that was the worst of the injuries? 

My back injury is the sort that has to be looked after on an ongoing basis, I needed to go to Holland three times in that period, to have a check-up. When I prepare for a fight I need to condition my whole body and not only those muscles used for fighting.

You have not had a fight since December. This long layoff happened twice before, do you think it has had any negative effects at this stage of your career? 

You could say it is somewhat normal. I took advantage of that time to take a much-needed rest while I recovered. Pride’s pace is hard and I have fought with a break of two months; then in 2003 I fought three times in five months. Now, after this much time out of the ring, I am beginning to get hungry for a fight again! But in another sense it is good, because I can train hard and come back way stronger than before and in better shape. As fighters we have to realize that we are not machines. If we do not take time to heal and prepare our bodies our careers will not last very long.

What’s the ideal number of matches in a year? 

Three matches at the most four. You can’t fight four tough matches in a year, at most three tough matches.

Who do you think will be your next opponent? 

Maybe Mark Hunt, Pavel Nastula, or Rulon Gardner. There were some rumors that I would fight Nastula, but it was just a rumor. I don’t know who my next opponent will be. The Pride’s circuit is very strong and they’ve a lot of fighters. We don’t choose opponents, Pride does it for us. I want to face any tough opponent because I want to be the champion again.

You’ve signed with Pride again, what’s the deal and when are you going to fight again?  

My contract isn’t signed yet. My manager is negotiating but things are going well and I hope to be signed with them soon.

And finally do you have any message for the UK fans? 

I went there twice and I noticed that the sport is growing. They like fights, I was there in 2001 and in 2004 and I saw the difference between my two visits. The popularity of the sport is growing with Cage Rage and Cagewarriors and we’ve got Brazilians fighting there often like Jean Silva and Anderson Silva. My advice for the UK fans who want to become MMA fighters is look for a good professional coach. Because this sport is new, there will be a lot of cheaters. I don’t agree in MMA coaches, I agree with a Martial Arts Master who specializes in MMA. I do not believe a pure MMA coach exists. So I’m happy with the MMA scene in UK and I know they’re strong and determined, so a lot of very skilled British fighters will appear.

Fact file: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

• Weight: 105kg
• Height: 1,90cm
• MMA record: 27-3-1 (win-loss-draw)
• Date of birth: June 2, 1976 
• Lives: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 
• Fight team: Brazilian Top Team
• Major awards: RINGS KOK 2000, WEF and Pride
• Best thing about being a fighter: To represent my country and proud of making it.
• Lowest point in career: When I lost to Dennis Hallman and then to Jose ‘Pele’ Landi-Jons. I was thinking about retiring at that time. I had a few small fights and then the offer to fight Carlos Newton in the UFC came. I figured if I lost that fight I would retire, and if I won I’d stick with it. I’m still here.  
• Favourite food: Italian and Japanese 
• Favourite film: Gladiator  
• Hobbies: Horses  
• Philosophy in life: To live in harmony with my friends and family 
• Who or what is on your calendar at home: Osaka Castle
• Proudest moment: The birth of my daughter, Tanya
• How would you describe yourself, if applying for an internet bride: With a lot of love and affection