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Considering Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures)'s career full of brutal wars, many felt the Brazilian heavyweight might not have a lot left when he stepped into the Octagon Saturday night.

Just a few moments into his battle with Tim Sylvia (Pictures) it seemed as though those concerns had been confirmed. Detonating a massive right hand onto the Brazilian heavyweight's chin, it appeared as though Sylvia would win a UFC belt for the third time while Nogueira would have his legacy called into question.

But not so fast, folks.

This was certainly not Nogueira's first rodeo, and he eventually cleared his head to the point where he could outbox Sylvia, score a takedown and force a tapout with a picture-perfect guillotine. It was a sensational win, one of the greatest of Nogueira's career. Which brings me to the meat of this week's Monday Morning Reverie. …



The 10 Most Memorable Nights of Minotauro's Career:

10) March 16, 2003: Pride 25, vs. Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures)
On a list of positive memories it seems strange to start with a loss. Nogueira was one step behind the Russian from the start, but he continuously tried submission after submission. Fighting on troubled waters for 20 minutes provided yet another affirmation of Nogueira's toughness. In the first half of the bout, Emelianenko landed a huge right hand to the grounded Nogueira that would have finished just about anyone else. But the Brazilian heavyweight hung tough long enough to make a fight out of it. This was the fight that catapulted Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) into the stratosphere of MMA, as he was simply too much for Nogueira to handle.

9) Dec. 23, 2002: Pride 24, vs. Dan Henderson (Pictures)
It was the second rematch of Nogueira's career, and it was his first chance to avenge a loss. Dan Henderson (Pictures) had already scored a controversial split decision win over him when they met in the finals of the RINGS King of Kings 1999 tournament. Henderson was at a disadvantage size-wise, but he had always been one of the most reliable and dominant fighters in the sport. The rematch unfolded relatively similar to their first encounter, but as the minutes eroded Nogueira seized control. At the 1:49 mark of the third round, Henderson tapped out due to a textbook armbar, the first time in his entire career that he had ever been submitted. It was Nogueira's 13th consecutive win, and at the time he looked unbeatable.

9) Dec. 31, 2006: Pride Shockwave 2006, vs. Josh Barnett (Pictures)
It would be the last time that Nogueira would ever step foot inside a Pride ring, and his opponent would be one person he wanted to fight badly: "The Baby Faced Assassin." Barnett scored a controversial split decision over "Minotauro" just three months earlier and was the favorite entering rematch. Once again Nogueira proved the critics wrong, as he out-pointed Barnett en route to an exciting and competitive unanimous decision.

8) July 7, 2007: UFC 73, vs. Heath Herring (Pictures)
Pride was effectively dead and Nogueira had just signed with the UFC. In his Octagon debut, Nogueira was matched in a showcase against Herring, whom he'd already defeated twice. Most figured that "The Texas Crazy Horse" had little left, but he stunned everyone by flooring Nogueira with a head kick early in the opening round. "Minotauro" was a dead man on his back, but Herring inexplicably allowed Nogueira to recover. By the end of the first round, Nogueira was almost on steady legs. He went on to win an easy unanimous decision in a fight he was literally knocked out in and clearly should have lost.

7) Aug. 15, 2004: Pride Final Conflict 2004, vs. Sergei Kharitonov (Pictures)
Nogueira had already lost his Pride heavyweight title to Fedor, but he was riding high on a four-fight win streak. Enter Kharitonov, an unbeaten judo specialist with concussive striking power. There were whispers that Kharitonov would be the man to eventually dethrone King Fedor, and some speculated that he'd use Nogueira as a springboard toward the world title. Those people couldn't have been more wrong, as Nogueira sent Kharitonov to the MMA clinic and dominated the Russian en route to a wide unanimous decision. The coveted rematch with Fedor was his next fight, and it was within reason that he'd snatch the title back.

6) Feb. 24, 2001: RINGS King of Kings Finals 2000
With a fighter like Minotauro, whose career spans close to 10 years, it stands to reason that he would have participated in a tournament or two. In this case, it was one of the most impressive tournaments in MMA history. Staged over two cards in a five-month span, the RINGS-formatted event, which prohibited striking to head while fighters went at it on the ground, called for five victories, including three in one night, to win the competitive tournament. Other fighters competing for the title included Randy Couture (Pictures), Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (Pictures), and Valentijn Overeem (Pictures), who fell to Nogueira by arm-triangle choke in the finals after submitting Couture in the semis. The tournament triumph propelled Nogueira into Pride.

5) Sept. 24, 2001: Pride 16, vs. Mark Coleman (Pictures)
Mark "The Hammer" Coleman was clearly the best heavyweight on the planet at the time, as he had not only won six straight fights, he was also fresh off an unbelievable triumph in the inaugural Pride Grand Prix. Coleman bombarded Nogueira early, however, the wrestler's surreal strength and immeasurable ground-and-pound tactics were no match for the slick Brazilian. Nogueira slapped on one of the prettiest armbar-triangle submissions the world had ever seen. This was the fight that put Nogueira on the map.

4) Nov. 3, 2001: Pride 17, vs. Heath Herring (Pictures)
It was the first, and greatest, meeting between Nogueira and Herring, and to say Nogueira's seven-fight winning streak was in jeopardy would have been an enormous understatement. Herring delivered powerful kicks and punches, scored takedowns and defended every submission in Nogueira's arsenal. Still, Minotauro was too slick, too determined and most importantly, too tough to lose. Towards the end of the first Pride heavyweight title fight, Nogueira took over to wrap up a unanimous decision in one of the highlights of the year.

3) Feb. 2, 2008: UFC 81, vs. Tim Sylvia (Pictures)
Nogueira entered the Octagon as an underdog, having looked sluggish in recent bouts. Sylvia was destined to become a three-time UFC champion, and not many people gave Nogueira a chance to become the only person thus far to capture both a Pride and a UFC heavyweight title. Sylvia blasted him early and often and had Nogueira knocking on defeat's door. As the Brazilian staggered and stumbled around the cage, it was a matter of time before "The Maine-iac" landed one last right hand to become the only man to knock out the legend.

However, as he's done so many times throughout his illustrious career, Nogueira miraculously recovered to seize control of the fight. Though Sylvia hurt "Minotauro" late in the second with another right hand, Nogueira had taken control of the striking by then with his swift left jabs. Battered and bloodied, Nogueira scored a crucial takedown early in the third and eventually secure a perfect guillotine to end the fight. It was one of the finest performances of courage and determination the sport has seen, and Nogueira made history in the process.

2) Aug. 28, 2002: Pride Shockwave, vs. Bob Sapp (Pictures)
Sheer size, power, and strength. Everything about Sapp at the time was fierce and frightening. Though he only had two professional MMA bouts under his belt, "The Beast" was a force to be reckoned with. For almost 14 minutes against Nogueira, he looked every bit the part.

Soaring on a torrid 10-fight winning streak, Nogueira was thrown around the ring, battered with ferocious punches (both legal and illegal) and couldn't fend off the aggressive attacks from the scariest man he had ever faced. Sapp, a ripped 350-pound National Football League washout who was as wide as he was tall, drove Minotauro head first into the canvas during a terrifying slam that looked like it might have killed the superstar.

Nogueira was in deep trouble, and even into the second round Sapp was unrelenting. Finally, after another takedown from the bestial former football player, Nogueira latched on a desperate armbar and submitted the enormous monster. Never before had Nogueira found himself in such peril as a professional fighter, only to pull off an unthinkable come-from-behind win. It defined his trademark.

1) Nov. 9, 2003: Pride Final Conflict, vs. Mirko Filipovic (Pictures)
Nogueira had recently lost his belt to Fedor and was coming off a controversial decision win over former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures). He was desperate to win and wanted nothing more than to avenge his loss to the Russian. Standing in his way was brilliantly deadly striker and former K-1 superstar Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. Minotauro tried to strike with the Croatian, but he was vastly overpowered and had no choice but to take the fight to the ground.

The only problem was Filipovic's sprawls were perfect. For roughly 11 minutes, Nogueira could not bring the fight to the canvas no matter how he tried: shots, trips, sweeps, whizzers. "Cro Cop" was determined to keep the fight in his favor and he did so with relative ease.

To make matters worse, precision striking from Filipovic was doing a horrific number on Nogueira's face, legs and body. Cro Cop bombarded his foe with lethal leg kicks and scorching kicks to the midsection. And whenever the fighters got close enough, his fists tattooed Minotauro's face. Nothing, it seemed, would deter Cro Cop from victory and a fight against Fedor, in what would have possibly been the most anticipated fight in MMA history at that point.

Though Cro Cop was dominating Nogueira with his perfect sprawls and surgical precision striking, Antonio Rodrigo was still competitive. He wasn't wearing down physically or mentally. His lungs were still robust. And though he was trailing helplessly on the cards, momentum shifted in his favor about a minute into the second round.

Nogueira, showing his tactical chops, altered the game plan to set up a takedown after punching his way in. Cro Cop tried to scramble back to his feet, but it was too late: Nogueira had already grabbed onto his right arm, popped his legs through and torqued his hips. The textbook armbar was complete, and Cro Cop had to tap out. It was without question Nogueira's finest moment: A feat of poise, courage, skill, determination and mental toughness that is rarely duplicated, if at all. His win over Cro Cop defined him as one of the greatest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts.
vir: sherdog