Where does Nog go now?

Underground
1

Nog has long been one of my two or three favorite fighters, but his inability to beat Fedor seems absolute. As a result, his place in MMA in general and PRIDE specifically is tough to discern.

He can and has beaten everyone else in PRIDE and IMO he's far better then any of his UFC counterparts. But as he's unable to beat Fedor, where does that leave him?

If Fedor leaves after his fight with CroCop, as has been heavily rumored then Nog is in the unenveable position of being the best by default.

So I ask the question: Where does Nog go now?

2

He could be UFC champ in a heartbeat, but I imagine that would be a serious pay-cut.

3

If the rumors are true about what's going on at BTT...I think he needs to start training with a different team

4

His striking skills are fine, it's just that he doesn't commit to them or get aggressive enough. When he does, as against Kharitonov, he looks great on his feet.

I think both Nogueira and Fedor will stay in Pride. Fedor is bound to lose sooner or later, either to Nogueira or somebody else.

5

He needs to go to team quest.

6

Cro Cop could beat Fedor and then you would get to see a rematch. He just needs to stay active and see what happens .

7

Problem is, if he stays in PRIDE he'll have already beaten everyone.

And he can't beat Fedor..... So..... What does he do?

8

Mino is in a tough spot. The only big matches left for him in Japan are Barnett and Fedor's brother. He's beaten all the other heavyweights except for Fedor who he should not get another shot at.

I'd love to see him fight stateside and take on Arlovski, Mir, and Sylvia, but I doubt we'll see it happen.

9

"He could be UFC champ in a heartbeat"

  • Really? I could have sworn he had a REALLY close fight with one of the UFC's former HW champs.

I agree that Barnett needs to get back in the swing of things in Pride ASAP. How long is he supposed to be out with his shoulder?

I guess he wont have the chance to rematch CC first, which is unfortunate because if he beat CC, which he would have IMO, it would have been a good setup for a match with him and Mino.

I really think Barnett matches up well with ANY HW out there, and that includes Mino and Fedor.

Although I would have to think Ricco's sub game is a little tighter than Barnett's, Barnett's dishes out much more punishment, whether standing of on the ground.

I could see Barnett roughing Mino up (though I could also see Mino tapping Josh too).

Perhaps this is a good chance for Ricco to get his rematch with Mino...????

10

Do what Randy did."If you cnat beat em,Drop down to the next weightclass.

Then say sorry Bro but your shit out of luck.

Do you think the Nogeria brothers look like WWE star Tito Santana.

11

"It's scary to think of him as one dimensional, but against Fedor he is basically a butt scooting BJJ guy."

As much as it pains me, he really was dominated in the first two rounds of the third match... Some of the hate is crazy, I'm glad Danzig was objective on this one.

Fedor will likely lose one day (as most fighters do). I think it's perfectly fine he stays for big paydays. He's deserved it.

I don't agree with waltzing into UFC and beating everyone... I would LOVE to see him fight Ricco, Mir, Arlovski and Mir. PEople say those are easy fights for him, but nah, I don't buy it.

12

"I would LOVE to see him fight Ricco, Mir, Arlovski and Mir."

I personally would like to see him fight Mir, but definetly not Mir.

Seriously though, I think fights against Sylvia, Mir, or Arlovski would be VERY competitive. Mino would not waltz through any of them.

13

Alright focker, I'll pay that... I meant Sylvia :).

Having seen Mino against Ricco and Ricco against all those guys, well, A V B may not always work out, but it's got to give you some sort of indication on those matchups.

14

Nog can handle all 3 of them the same way he handled Heath Herring.

15

All three of those guys are a lot better than Heath Herring.

16

Tomato Can: I don't think those three guys are better than Herring so much as they'll fight alot smarter than Herring.

17

I think they're definetly better than Herring. Herring hasn't had an impressive win since he beat Mark Kerr 3 and a half years ago.

18

Nog vs Gary Coleman in a chainsaw match.

19

I personally think Nog would get dismantled by a Sylvia or Arlovski.

Styles make match up and I don't see Nog being able to take those guys down to submit.

Mir? Yes, I think he could beat.

Nogs really only has one big win. That was against CroCop, and he was getting mauled before he pulled the sub.

He is awesome, but he isn't all that.

20

"The has to be by far the dumbest thing anyone has ever posted on this board. Lets just ignore his wins against ______ (insert your favourite HW here who's name is not Fedor)."

Gimme a break. I said the guy is awesome, but the HW division was the weakest one in MMA when he was on top.

His biggest competitor at the time was Heath Herring. Heath is a decent fighter but hardly top of the heap.

Besides Heath, he barely beat some guys he should have walked through..

Sapp, no MMA experience?

Hendo, a MW?

Yokoi? Who's that?

etc?

& his fight w/Ricco was a draw for him at best.

I still have him as #2 for HW's. And he is deserving.

But all I'm saying is that I think all that will change as soon as he fights the current top guys.