Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Believes He Beat Shogun, Asks For Third Fight
With UFC 190 now in the rearview mirror, most of the talk surrounding the event has been about the main event, which of course featured a devastating 34-second knockout from dominant bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, but it seems as if the co-main event hasn’t been shown much love.
The co-main event featured a rematch ten years in the making between ageing Brazilian stars Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and although it was being overlooked, it actually turned out to be a solid and entertaining fight.
Lil’ Nog got the ball rolling early on, almost finishing “Shogun” in the first, but ultimately a unanimous decision was handed to Rua. Speaking recently on the fight with Sportv, Nogueira noted that both the rematch and the first bout, which has been deemed as one of the greatest fights of all-time, were both very close decisions, and he has also asked for a third bout with “Shogun”:
“I would like to ask for another rematch. I was apprehensive for not living up to the first fight. Ten years ago I was much vigorous. This time, it was more technical, it wasn’t much of a brawl. Shogun is a guy I would like to fight again. I know it’s hard, but they were two very close decisions. I lost again, but I would like to fight him again.”
I assume many fans would agree with Nogueira when he says that the bout was very close, and Lil’ Nog continued on, stating that he believes the first round should have been a 10-8 round, also mentioning that he thinks that he won the fight:
“It was a very good fight. I would give myself a two point difference in the first round because I almost knocked him out. I lost the first half of the second round, I was on the bottom. But I won the second half. The third one was really close, I put him in a guillotine, but he escaped. Very close fight, but I believe I won the fight by one point.”
The Brazilian legend may not get his wish right away, as Rua may be in line for a potential bout with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, as the two have both said that they are interested in doing battle. However, at the end of the day, Rua gave Nogueira all of his respect, also expressing his interest in a third bout:
“Of course. He deserves all my respect. I would fight him again.” Rua said.
As two of the very best light heavyweights of all-time, both Nogueira and “Shogun” are getting up there in age, meaning that they may not have too many fights left. Would you like to see these two Brazilian legends go round three?
