UFC
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira discusses why he went for guillotine choke against Frank Mir at UFC 140
Dec 21, 2011 - 11:45:10 PM Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira discusses why he went for guillotine choke against Frank Mir at UFC 140

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's failure to finish Frank Mir at UFC 140 led to him suffering a broken arm when Mir recovered and locked on a kimura. His decision to attack for a guillotine choke - which led to Mir grabbing the arm in a scramble in the first place - has come under fire since the event, with UFC President Dana White going so far as to say Nogueira will regret that decision the rest of his life.

In a post on his own website, however, Nogueira commented on the bout, and deflected some of his reasoning for attacking for the guillotine on referee Herb Dean.

"Everything that happens in a fight is quick and the fighter acts most based on his instincts and reflexes than on his mind," Nogueira said, translated by Tatame.com. "I knew I made a mistake as I tried to submit on a fight where I could have won by KO. But when Frank Mir was practically knocked out I heard [Dean] ask me to stop punching him at the neck and that's exactly when I tried to choke him. Mir put himself together and must be congratulated for submitting me. I checked the videos and I wasn't hitting him on the neck, but on Mir's side of the head, which is allowed."

But while the injury was certainly debilitating - Nogueira had to get 16 pins in his arm and a titanium plate in surgery last weekend - Nogueira feels he'll still come back strong.

"I'm not here to apologize," he continued. "I lost, I'll recover from my arm injury and then move on, probably on the second UFC Rio of 2012. The good thing about the loss was that I got many supporting messages, and I really thank the great treatment that the boss (Dana White) gave me, yet in Canada. Dana used to tell me 'Nog we're not sparing any help, you'll have the best experts so you comeback soon and well.' I'm sure I'll still fight for many years, I fight because I like it to and I feel I'm in one of the best moments of my career."

Penick's Analysis: Nogueira was warned about hitting in the back of the head, but that didn't mean he needed to give up his striking attack. Mir wasn't giving him a ton of opening, but had he picked his shots a little better, he had Mir in a really bad spot, and Mir wouldn't have been in a position to block much. By going for the guillotine, he gave up his advantageous position, and allowed Mir to work on instinct when he still wasn't all there after getting knocked down. He's gotten a decent diagnosis for a return after surgery, and he expects to be able to return, but this wound up being really the biggest missed opportunity of his career.

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