Antônio Rogério Nogueira, one of the legendary Nogueira brothers (his twin, Big Nog, fights at heavyweight, while Little Nog fights at light heavyweight), is a Pride legend and UFC mainstay who has never lost more than two fights in a row and is 21-6 overall. The problem for Little Nog is that, at age 38, his body is failing him. On top of that, he simply can't hang with the light heavyweights of today. Minotouro is actually 2-1 in his last three fights, but consider this: his wins came over Tito Ortiz, in 2011, and Rashad Evans, in 2013, followed by a devastating loss to Anthony Johnson this past weekend. That is three fights in just over three year's time. In that time, Tito Ortiz retired, left the UFC family, and came back to MMA, winning his debut in Bellator. Rashad Evans has won two fights since they met. Little Nog, meanwhile, sat out with injury. And when he finally came back, after over a year away yet again, he was welcomed by the cold hard fists of Anthony Johnson. Nog was destroyed in under a minute. He had nothing for 'Rumble" - he looked like a practice dummy. It was painful to watch. He simply shouldn't take another beating like that.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
