‘Minotauro’ Nogueira to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame

MANILA, Philippines – Mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will finally have his rightful place in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Hall of Fame in July during the International Fight Week in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The world’s premier MMA promotion broke the news during the UFC 198 live broadcast on Sunday, May 15 (Manila Time) as Nogueira will be joining the likes of Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Pat Miletich, Royce Gracie, Matt Hughes, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock.

“I’m really excited to announce Minotauro Nogueira as the first inductee of the 2016 UFC Hall of Fame class,” UFC president Dana White said. “Big Nog is a mixed martial arts legend and, as an icon of the sport, we couldn’t think of a more fitting platform to make this announcement then at the record-breaking stadium event in Brazil. Nogueira is a true pioneer and we look forward to celebrating his career with all the fight fans in July at the UFC Fan Expo.”

The 39-year-old Brazilian will be part of the Pioneer Era wing, which recognizes fighters who turned professional before November 17, 2000 when the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts were introduced to the sport.

Nogueira was the anchor of PRIDE’s early heavyweight MMA dominance before the arrival of Fedor Emelianenko, becoming the organization’s inaugural heavyweight champion in November 2001 by defeating Heath Herring via unanimous decision.

“Minotauro” would go on to compete 21 times under the PRIDE banner, owning notable victories over Gary Goodridge, Mark Coleman, Bob Sapp, Dan Henderson, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett.

Nogueira made his highly-anticipated Octagon debut in July 2007 and had 11 bouts in the UFC, including a February 2008 triumph over Tim Syliva to capture the interim UFC heavyweight title.

With 21 submission wins out of his 34 career victories, Nogueira retired from MMA when he suffered a disappointing decision loss to Stefan Struve in August 2015. – Rappler.com