UFC
After surprising knockout of Brendan Schaub at UFC 134, Antonio Minotauro Nogueira wants rematch with Frank Mir
Aug 30, 2011 - 9:55:34 AM After surprising knockout of Brendan Schaub at UFC 134, Antonio Minotauro Nogueira wants rematch with Frank Mir

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira surprised just about everyone on Saturday night, not in that he defeated Brendan Schaub at UFC 134, but in how it happened. Nogueira scored just the third victory by strikes in his 41 fight career.

The thrilling performance in front of an ecstatic hometown crowd staved off what had been a steady stream of questions about impending retirement, and put Nogueira back into a relevant position in the UFC's heavyweight division.

Nogueira discussed his surprising win in an interview with Tatame.com, and revealed that it was his gameplan to strike with Schaub.

"It was a surprising knockout," Nogueira said. The guys expected me to take him down, but I distract him a little. I went for his leg and then his body, only using my striking skills, not using the tactic to take him down. I moved my head a lot too. He started fast, but I dodged. It was awesome. What a big party!"

"Before going to the fight, Junior [dos Santos] kept telling me to 'use this one, this one'. It's like a punch, a jab and a powerful left hand. I got Schaub with his back at Dorea, Rogerio and Junior. And the guys kept yelling 'do it now, now, now'... When they yelled 'go', I moved my head and punched him. It was automatic, it was the right timing. I guess he thought I would grab his legs and I fit an upper punch. He didn't know I'd strike as much, It really was a surprising knockout."

After an extensive rehabilitation process following knee and hip surgery, getting him to 100% shortly before the fight with Schaub, Nogueira says his intensity on fight night was built up anger at his doubters.

"It was like an outflow to me," he said. "Many things happened. It was like an outflow to those who didn't believe in me. You saw I had an angry face, but it wasn't about Schaub, I don't feel any anger towards him. It was an outflow for those who told me to retire, to those who asked Dana White if he would retire me after this fight... I won't retire."

"That was like an outflow, an outflow to my former sponsor, who's someone I've helped, but then he cancelled my sponsorship one month and a half before the fight... I wanted to say many things to those who didn't believe in me, those who thought I was going to lose. You can see I had anger in my face when I got in there. But I don't feel any anger towards my opponent, I feel it towards people who do that. I guess people should believe more."

As for what's next for the 35-year-old Nogueira, he's got one opponent in mind, but a couple of locations he'd like the fight to take place.

"I'd like to fight Frank Mir," Nogueira said. "I want to fight UFC Japan. I'd like to fight UFC Canada, which will happen later this year. Fighting Frank Mir is something I'd love to do. I'm motivated to fight him."

Link to Full Interview

Penick's Analysis: A Nogueira vs. Mir rematch in December in Toronto would be a huge fight. Their first meeting following a coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter season eight was a shocking win for Mir, as he became the first person to stop Nogueira with strikes. If Nogueira has a few more months to prepare for that rematch, perhaps he can make it a different outcome and continue moving up the ladder in the division. For Mir, if he can pick up another win in a row, he can move himself closer to another shot at the title as well. It's a fight that makes a lot of sense, and if the UFC can get it together it could be a great addition to any card.

[Antonio Minotauro Nogueira art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]