Antonio rogerio nogueira can’t wait for the UFC roadshow to return to Brazil.
Q: What does it mean to you for the UFC to be going back to Brazil?
Nogueira: “It is a very big thing. It’s amazing for everybody back home and for me, my brother and Wanderlei, the guys who fought in Pride.
We were like the first guys to make the sport famous in Brazil.
We had a hard time because the media in Brazil didn’t like the sport after it was banned 10 years ago, so we have had to show them how professional we are, both inside and outside the ring, and now we have the chance to show them how well organized MMA is now. “
Q: What do you think UFC 134 will do for the young fighters coming through in Brazil?
A: “It will help them to build a much better future. The sport will pay them much more than just five years ago. They will earn a lot more money than we did. I believe in five years UFC fighters will be earning as much as boxers. I think the champions will be earning up to $5 million dollars, but then the money will attract so many more athletes so it will be much tougher to become champion.”
Q: How does it feel to have played such a big role in the development of mixed martial arts?
A: “When myself and my brother started out only a small number of people knew about MMA. We could walk around in Brazil and in the United States and maybe only 5% of the people would recognize us.
But now it is very different. Now it feels like 100% of the people recognize us, and that shows how far the sport has come in such a short space of time. All the fighters deserve a lot of credit for that.
We have built the sport up by putting on a very good show and that makes me very proud.”
Q: Looking back over your distinguished career, what was the toughest moment for you?
A: “When I fought for the first time in the UFC I had a bad time as I had damaged my ankle and it was very serious. I had to close contact with the UFC to try and delay my fight but after two months I had to fight.
I had a very tough opponent in Luiz Cane and I knew it was going to be very tough. I had to train very hard but I couldn’t do any jiu-jitsu, only boxing in training, and so I think I had a little luck that night.”
Q: Mentally how did you overcome that injury to score such a sensational knockout?
A: "I had to find a way to overcome the injury to face such a dangerous fighter, but sometimes it is when the challenge is against you that you find the intensity to train and fight harder. It is much easier to focus the mind when you are being tested and I knew that I would be tested in that fight. I had a hard time too when I injured my arm in 2003 ahead of a fight with Sakuraba. He was such a big name in Japan at that time and it was another big fight, but I had just one month’s training.
When you train hard the fight is easy. Sometimes when the training is easy, the fight is hard. It makes it hard to focus.”
Q: What has been your happiest moment so far?
A: “When I fought in Pride in 2003 and 2005 I beat Henderson and Overeem, and I had a great fight with ‘Shogun’ and beat Sakuraba.
They were the best times, so far.”
Q: What advice would give to young fighters coming through now?
A: “You have to train hard but you also have to make sure you are progressing. You have to spend sometimes to get better.
The local gym may not be the best place to learn. You have to spend time with the best guys, build your experience. I went to Cuba, to Europe, all different places with different styles.
You have to invest both the money and the time. Last of all, you must live a good clean life. Don’t drink and be a role model for other people, and always remember that the guys coming up are more hungry than you.”
Q: After two back-to-back defeats where do you see your career going at this point?
A: “In my last two fights I have faced good young guys who were both hungry. I made some mistakes with my wrestling but I am still improving. The rules are different now, remember.
There is much more stand-up now compared to the old days and now I have to adapt my style.”
Q: Both your losses have come against guys from wrestling backgrounds. Is that now the best sport to use as a base for an MMA career?
A: “For me I still think jiu-jitsu is the best base. You can be a good wrestler and submit people or good jiu-jitsu and submit people, but you also need to know how to strike a little when you are in mount.
First you need jiu-jitsu, because then you can control the fight standing and on the mat; then wrestling, then striking.”
Q: Next time out you face Rich Franklin at UFC 133 on, but how do you bounce back from two defeats?
A: “I have learned a lot from the last two fights. I have to have a strong mind. I am not in a good situation right now with two losses, a place I have never been in, in my life before.
But all I can do is forget what happened in the past and concentrate on my next opponent.”
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