Nogueira: Pride era was ‘apex’ of my career
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: “Thank God I managed to become champion in both organizations, but of course I reached my apex fighting in Japan.”
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was an MMA legend before making his move to the UFC, winning some amazing fights for the PRIDE organization. And although he did capture the interim UFC heavyweight title, he believes that his time in PRIDE was when he was at his best:
I think there isn’t much comparison (between PRIDE and the UFC); they are two different realities, Nogueira said. Thank God I managed to become champion in both organizations, but of course I reached my apex fighting in Japan.
Having fought a total of 30 times in his combined PRIDE and UFC careers, Nogueira has faced a who’s who of the world’s top competitors – some on more than one occasion. While some vets can’t reflect on their accomplishments until their career is over, Nogueira has no such issues, he said. He can fondly point to the highest moments and, just as easily, share what he views as the lowest of his personal lows.
The high points were the victory over Bob Sapp, my first fight in Brazil [UFC 134], and [winning] the PRIDE and UFC championships, Nogueira said. The lows were the various injuries I’ve had throughout my career. When dealing with some of my injuries, I didn’t know if would be able to fight again.