Noguiera Is The UFC's Only Sure Deal

I'm a huge Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera fan. As someone who spends alot of time trying to perfect the fundamentals of my own fighting game, I have to recognize that Big Nog is one of the guys who has come closest to doing that.

Nogueira was never a big heavyweight, walking around at a little over 230 pounds, but his skills on the great and standing up are some of the best in the heavyweight division.

Nogueira recently disclosed in an interview that he will be fighting for the UFC heavyweight title. His opponent will either be current title holder, Hall-of-Famer and MMA legend Randy Couture, who is having some contract disputes with Zuffa, or former two time champion Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia.

Either way, Nogueira will be a favorite going into the fight, even if he is the challenger against Couture.

Nogueira's blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the most misunderstood ranks in MMA. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champions have come into the Octagon and not done as well as Nogueira, but Nogueira's brand of fast, spontanious, fundamentally sound jiu-jitsu combined with his personal toughness is what makes him dangerous. While many guys who come over from BJJ competition or combat grappling find that they cannot execute moves while being punched in the face, Nogueira seems to almost perform better.

What's more, Nogueira's boxing, which he has trained with the Cuban national boxing team, is fundamentally sound. While he might struggle with a tough, lanky standup fighter like Sylvia, Nogueira's head movement, counterpunching and distance control is very underrated. While he probably won't try and stand with Sylvia or Couture, he is no slouch on his feet.

Nogueira looks to reclaim the glory that he once had as the Pride Fighting Championship's heavyweight king. While he lost the title to Fedor Emelianenko, who is still considered the greatest fighter in the world, Nogueira is a formidable opponent, ranked #2 in the world by most current polls.

While there is some question about how Nogueira will fare in the Octagon, he is a warrior and has been in some serious battles with some of the best fighters in the sport. He has also fought all three of the sports top five(though recent rankings differ alot on the ranking of CroCop), with Emelianenko (#1), Josh Barnett (#3) and Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic (#5).

His other notable wins include former UFC heavyweight champions Mark Coleman, Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez, along with K-1 champion Semmy Schilt. (Schilt is a similar fighter to Sylvia as a kickboxer, and actually stands between three and four inches taller than the former UFC champion)

Hopefully, Nogueira's shot at the UFC hardware will come soon, but in the meantime, we can only hope that the UFC will decide on either Sylvia or Couture for his opponent.