Rogério Nogueira: from PRIDE to the UFC, the southpaw called Little Nog | Ultimate Fighter Reunion

Why fans still care

ROGÉRIO NOGUEIRA spent much of his career next to a more famous brother, and he still built a strong record of his own. He was a southpaw boxer good enough to win a Pan American Games medal, and in PRIDE’s best years he beat Kazushi Sakuraba, Dan Henderson, Who’s Who number 16 and Alistair Overeem, Who’s Who number 2. Then he went to the UFC and beat Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans. His three fights with Shogun Rua are still talked about.

Early life

He was born on 2 June 1976 in Vitória da Conquista, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, one of twin boys. His brother is Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, who also became a fighter. The two came up together in Team Nogueira, based in Rio de Janeiro.

Getting started

His professional debut came on 18 August 2001 at Deep 2nd Impact in Japan, an armbar of Katsuhisa Fujii in the first round. He joined PRIDE in 2002 and, after an early decision loss to Vladimir Matyushenko, won eight fights in a row. That run included decisions over Kazushi Sakuraba on New Year’s Eve 2003 and Alistair Overeem, Who’s Who number 2 in February 2005. He said he worked on his stand-up because PRIDE’s Grand Prix was full of strikers like Overeem and Guy Mezger.

Career chapters

1. 2001Professional debut in Japan
2. 2002Joins PRIDE
3. 2005Armbars Dan Henderson, then loses a classic to Shogun Rua
4. 2007Boxing bronze at the Pan American Games
5. 2009UFC debut, a first-round TKO of Luiz Cané
6. 2011Stops Tito Ortiz at UFC 140
7. 2013Beats Rashad Evans at UFC 156
8. 2020Retires after a third fight with Rua

PRIDE 2002 to 2007

In the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix he armbarred Dan Henderson, Who’s Who number 16 in the first round in Osaka on 23 April. In the quarter-final in Saitama on 26 June he lost a unanimous decision to Maurício “Shogun” Rua. Sherdog named it the 2005 Fight of the Year, calling it “the finest display of MMA this calendar year”. On 1 July 2006 he stopped Overeem in the second round, his second win over him. In February 2007 Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou knocked him out in 23 seconds at PRIDE 33.

Boxing

Alongside MMA he boxed as an amateur. He won the Brazilian Championship, made the Brazilian national team and won bronze at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio. He chose MMA over a boxing career.

The UFC 2009 to 2020

After fights in Affliction and Sengoku, including a knockout of Matyushenko in a rematch, he made his UFC debut at UFC 106 on 21 November 2009 and stopped Luiz Cané in the first round. He later called it the best moment of his career. On 10 December 2011 at UFC 140 in Toronto he hurt Tito Ortiz with a left hand, dropped him with a knee to the body and finished him with body shots in the first round. “It’s like a dream come true,” he said. On 2 February 2013 at UFC 156 he beat Rashad Evans on all three cards, 29-28.

Losses to Anthony Johnson, Rua and Ryan Bader followed, along with wins over Patrick Cummins and Sam Alvey. In 2020 he said only he and Anderson Silva, Who’s Who number 13 were left in the UFC from the old generation. His last fight was the third with Rua, on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi in July 2020. Rua won a split decision, and Nogueira retired at 44.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fights

He is a southpaw, and boxing is the centre of his game. Rua described him as “a southpaw boxer with a good bottom game”. He finished Cané with a cross and used left hands against Ortiz and Evans. He went to the body with punches and knees. On the ground he won by armbar, guillotine and triangle. Against Evans he sprawled on the takedowns and got back to his feet.

Teams and gyms

He trained with Team Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro, alongside his twin. Before the Evans fight he did wrestling work with Khetag Pliev.

Stories people still tell

1. The twins.

   He is “Minotouro” and his brother is “Minotauro”. Fans and some writers still mix them up. The PRIDE and UFC titles belong to Rodrigo.

2. Fight of the Year.

   He lost the 2005 fight with Rua and still says it was close. “We made the best fight of my career in 2005,” he told Cageside Press.

3. The farewell.

   He picked Rua for his last fight, closing a rivalry that ran from 2005 to 2020.

Legacy

He was one of the last PRIDE fighters still competing in the UFC. His wins over Sakuraba, Henderson, Overeem, Ortiz and Evans, and his Pan American Games medal, made him a fighter worth knowing on his own, not just as Rodrigo’s brother.