Earlier in June, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira took on Fabricio Werdum at UFC on FUEL TV 10 as both men were the coaches of the recent “Ultimate Fighter: Brazil”. Nogueira lost via armbar submission in the second round, and was clearly suffering from pain long after the fight. While it must be difficult for Big Nog to lose by submission, he also suffered ligament damage which required surgery. The surgery was deemed a success, and Big Nog is currently in recovery mode, but the long term effects of such an injury must be questioned.
Is it time for Big Nog to call it quits?
On the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani on June 18, Ed Soares (Nogueira’s manager) reported that “he should be back training in about three months”. More importantly, Soares stated he is still interested in fighting and that “he’s still a top 10 heavyweight in the world”. While this is true, Big Nog is current 37-years-old and has not won two straight fights in the UFC since 07-08, when he beat Heath Herring at UFC 73 and Tim Sylvia at UFC 81. He won the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship in his bout against Sylvia, but lost it later in 2008 against Frank Mir at UFC 92. There’s no denying his best years were during the PRIDE FC era, but he has had some memorable fights in the UFC as well, most notably a submission of the night win over Dave Herman at UFC 153, and a knockout of the night win against Brendan Schaub at UFC 134. But the question remains, is it time for Big Nog to hang’em up?
Both Bloody Elbow and MMA Mania have reported, as recent as June 19, that there is mutual interest between Nogueira and Stephan Struve to fight later this year. Judging by this information, it seems all these two heavyweight fighters are waiting for is a date. So, is it time for Big Nog to call it quits? Maybe not. However, unless Nogueira plans to utilize his boxing against a fighter who struggles on his feet, this will likely be a ground war given both fighters’ skill sets. As a result, there will be a lot of grappling and submission attempts, increasing the chances of another Nogueira injury. Not to mention, going under the knife twice in two years could prove to be a sign that Big Nog is close to the end.
Even if the Struve and Big Nog fight is finalized, evidence suggests that Big Nog’s days as an MMA fighter are numbered. Fighters never want to call it quits, but their bodies tend to send them messages as the dreadful time approaches. Nogueira has had an immaculate career, dating all the way back to his reign as the Heavyweight Champion of PRIDE. He compiled a PRIDE record of 17-3-1, which two of his losses, and the one no contest, were to one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time in Fedor Emelianeko. After making his way to the UFC, it’s been a little harder for him to find the same success. Nevertheless, if Big Nog can recover from his arm surgery and win his next fight, there could be a few more bouts in him before calling it quits. Alas, only time will tell. Good luck to Big Nog on his recovery and hopefully he makes it back into the octagon soon.
