Background check: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was born in Bahia, Nrazil in 1976. He is 6ft3in tall and weighs in at 234lbs with a reach of 77 inches. He holds a black belt in BJJ and Judo and is well versed in boxing. He made his debut in MMA against David Dodd in WEF 6 1999, winning by Kimura. He has since gone on to build a record of 32-6 (2ko, 20sub).

Since his debut in 98 Big Nog has mainly fought under the Rings, Pride and UFC banners. In 2001 he won the Rings king of kings tournament by submitting Valentjin Overeem, shortly after he competed in Pride debuting against Gary Goodridge and winning again by submission. He went on to become the first Pride heavyweight champion by beating Heath Herring via decision. He also submitted Mirko Cro Cop for the Pride Interin HW championship. Other fighters that have been submitted by Big Nog in Pride include K-1/Bob-Sapp”>Bob Sapp, Semmy Schilt, Heath Herring, Dan Henderson and Mark Coleman. Since joining the UFC in July 2007 Nogueira has beaten Tim Sylvia, Heath Hering and Randy Couture. Although 2 of his last 3 fights he has lost by KO. Once to Frank Mir at UFC 92 and most recently in the main event at UFC 110 where he suffered a brutal first round knockout at the hands of Cain Velasquez. 

Nogueira has had a long and successful career in MMA and I hope his recent loss will not be the end of it. He has stated that he will be back to fight again and hopefully we will be able to see the Nogueira of old that was a favorite of Pride fans everywhere