Brazilian legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira retired from MMA competition following his trilogy-fight loss to Mauricio Rua at UFC on ESPN 14, marking the end of a career that dates back to his August 2001 debut and saw him fight for UFC, PRIDE and more.
Although Nogueira doesn’t have the major accomplishments such as a title in a premier organization, he has a career that was very respectable and left his mark on the sport. What kind of mark, exactly? MMA Junkie writers Nolan King, Farah Hannoun and Danny Segura debate Nogueira’s legacy in this edition of Triple Take.
Nolan King: Creating a legacy is more than wins and losses. Nogueira is a legend.
I’m sure Nogueira isn’t sitting in many people’s top 10 pound-for-pound list for the greatest fighters of all time. However, his accomplishments can’t be measured by wins and losses.
If you know MMA, you know the Nogueiras. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira had the “it-factor” before the “it-factor” was even a widely-recognizable trait in MMA. Identical twins and Brazilian badasses with the same name, both brothers competed at a top-tier level throughout their careers.
Just look at the laundry list of notable fighters Antonio Rogerio Nogueira competed against in PRIDE, Affliction, the UFC, and beyond. From Alistair Overeem to Kazushi Sakuraba to Mauricio Rua to Tito Ortiz to Rashad Evans, Nogueira’s place as a guy who fights top-tier talented translated across fighting generations.
Sure, his UFC record wasn’t the best. Sure, we have imagery of him getting blasted by Ryan Spann and Ryan Bader, but his late-career stumbles don’t water down the overall legacy.
Think about how many current UFC fighters grew up watching Rogerio and his legendary matchups and were inspired to pick up MMA themselves. That’s a legacy right there not a couple of knockouts. That’s legend status. That’s Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
Next page: Farah Hannoun – ‘Lil’ Nog’ may not enter the UFC Hall of Fame, but he’s still a legend
Farah Hannoun: ‘Lil’ Nog’ may not enter the UFC Hall of Fame, but he’s still a legend
Nogueira may have slightly been in his twin brother’s shadow throughout his career, but “Lil’ Nog” has made an impact of his own.
Though Nogueira’s UFC career didn’t quite reach the heights he’d likely wanted, he has fought against elite competition in both PRIDE and the UFC. He holds notable wins over the likes of Kazushi Sakuraba, Alistair Overeem twice, Dan Henderson, Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans. That resume on it’s own is enough to consider Nogueira a legend in the sport.
Nogueira has entertained us with some great battles, including his trilogy with Shogun Rua, which unfortunately ended in disappointment for him. The Nogueira name is synonymous with jiu-jitsu, but Rogerio was able to show off his hands with eight career knockouts, including four in the UFC.
A title in a major organization may have alluded him, but Nogueira’s name will definitely be remembered.
Next page: Danny Segura – Nogueira’s longevity is something to admire
Danny Segura: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira’s longevity is something to admire
Nogueira didn’t walk away with any major championship belts, but there’s plenty to appreciate about this veteran.
Greatness is often measured by how many titles fighters win throughout their careers and how many title defenses they’re able to stack up. But there’s more to greatness than just titles, as we know politics, popularity, and bad luck can get in the way of fighter’s path to championship glory.
But what never fails to measure greatness is longevity.
Picking up consistent wins across multiple generations is one of the true testaments to being great. Every year fighters become better athletes, techniques get more polishes and the overall level of MMA increases
Nogueira was able to remain game from 2001 all the way to 2020 – almost two decades of facing the best fighters on the planet. And more often then not, he came out victorious. Nogueira is a Brazilian legend and one of the best fighters to ever come out of Brazil. He truly had an amazing career.
