I keep seeing that damnable gif here of Nog's arm getting cracked and it's really difficult. I think anyone who watched Pride had to remember that Nog was just a super-hero. The Sapp fight was like watching something mythical. Sapp ended up being nothing special in MMA because he didn't really take it seriously, but let's not forget the guy beat up Ernesto Hoost twice, one of the greatest kickboxers of all time.
I'll never forget how I felt watching that Nog/Sapp fight. It was like all the years of jiu jitsu would've just been meaningless if Nog had lost. But he gutted out a power bomb and getting tossed around like a rag doll only to come back and finish the beast.
And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, he had to go and fight Semmy Schilt, the guy who would go on to become the four time K-1 WGP champ!
He had finished Coleman right after he seemed at the start of a renaissance in his career when he toppled everyone to win the inaugural Pride GP. He used his boxing and jiu jitsu to make Herring seem like an amateur. He did an incredible chain of submissions on Enson Inoue.
He went out and got the crap kicked out of him (literally) by Cro Cop but came back and found a way to win. If ever there was the definition of just plain toughness and heart, it was Nogueira. When he lost to Fedor it was like Thor fighting the Hulk. We knew Fedor was something special and if anyone deserved to beat him, it was a fellow mythic God of the Heavyweight pantheon.
Add to this that he was just a likable guy. Nobody had a bad thing to say about him. When his team BTT was feuding with Chute Boxe he stayed out of it and maintained friendships with guys on both sides. He was always hungry to get better, journeying to Cuba to work on his boxing with the national team. To me, he's like the MMA Joe Louis.
Then he comes to the UFC and ends up beating Sylvia to become champ, proving he's got what it takes and defending the Pride banner stateside.
But then Mir...first a TKO, then a submission. A bad submission. A submission on the greatest finisher in the history of the sport.
It's nothing against Mir. He's a good fighter and earned his victories and is a great heavyweight, but it's like when Ken Norton broke Ali's jaw. It's hard to see the standard bearer of jiu jitsu, Pride and dogged determination go down like that. Also seeing the look on his face just change as Mir put it in deep was just hard to watch.
Congrats to Mir, but I weep for our fallen hero. :_-(
big nog goat
I am still troubled. I'm not gonna get over this ever.
Nog is like an olympic god of mma. Thank you for showing us what is possible.
Excellent post. And what makes it even WORSE is he could've probably gotten the ref stoppage if he would have just kept punching Mir. He made a HORRIBLE jusgment call, and it cost him dearly.
Mir did a HELL of a job in recovering, catching the arm, and keeping the submission locked in during both reversals. That will go down as one of the best submissions of the year, I'm sure . . . the fact that he pulled it off against Big Nog makes it even a GREATER accomplishment.
Mir earned a lot of respect in that fight . . . but damn I'm disappointed that Nog lost!!!!!
I would vote up if I could.. 
Excellent expression of what I think many of us feel.
I feel the same way, guy has great heart, takes a beating but comes back and wins. I don't like Mir but he's a good fighter just wish Nog could have won.
His tko to Mir was a tough one to take, but fedors last run has made me want to cry. Two greatest heavyweights ever getting finished... ugh
Mark Hunter - Excellent post. And what makes it even WORSE is he could've probably gotten the ref stoppage if he would have just kept punching Mir. He made a HORRIBLE jusgment call, and it cost him dearly.
Mir did a HELL of a job in recovering, catching the arm, and keeping the submission locked in during both reversals. That will go down as one of the best submissions of the year, I'm sure . . . the fact that he pulled it off against Big Nog makes it even a GREATER accomplishment.
Mir earned a lot of respect in that fight . . . but damn I'm disappointed that Nog lost!!!!!
It seems like this is the case, but if you look back on Nog's Pride career, this seems fairly consistent with his style. He always used to beat guys up then go for the sub. I don't know how many times I shouted at the TV screen "Nog, what are you doing?!" only for him to get the finish. I felt that way in the Sylvia fight and even when he went for the armbar on Cro Cop. He always sealed the deal though. I guess Mir is just the most high level grappler he's faced (aside from Werdum who he avoided the ground with and Barnett who he went 1-1 with).
Still, I'm sure Brazil is shedding a collective rain forest of tears. He's like a folk hero there and from my experiences in BJJ, to get subbed by an American is especially devastating.
Very sad fight.
I dont even want to re-watch it.
In some ways, it was much worse than the first Mir fight.
Nog had one of the toughest chins ever in MMA.. and it seemd Mir caught Nog just as all those WARS caught up with Nog's chin.
But going into this fight.. I KNEW that Nog was going to be better if it went to the ground. Especially positionally.
At first.. it looked like I would be right.
Then.. the Kimura heard round the world.
Big surprise!
And yes.. very hard to take.
I do like Mir, and I have been very impressed with the improvments he has made the lase few years.
But I have to agree with the OP..
Nog is a legend among legends. Very arguably the second best HW in our sports history.
Also.. it would have been great to see the Nog brothers both win on the same card.
Sad fight for me, personally.
Mayhem Monkey - His tko to Mir was a tough one to take, but fedors last run has made me want to cry. Two greatest heavyweights ever getting finished... ugh
Yeah...
Very eloquent and well thought out post. I hope a Blue-Namer does you the justice of a vote-up. 
Mark Hunter - Excellent post. And what makes it even WORSE is he could've probably gotten the ref stoppage if he would have just kept punching Mir. He made a HORRIBLE jusgment call, and it cost him dearly.
Mir did a HELL of a job in recovering, catching the arm, and keeping the submission locked in during both reversals. That will go down as one of the best submissions of the year, I'm sure . . . the fact that he pulled it off against Big Nog makes it even a GREATER accomplishment.
Mir earned a lot of respect in that fight . . . but damn I'm disappointed that Nog lost!!!!!
I agree.
Nog could have had him.
I was so happy as that all played out. I really thought Nog was going to avenge the loss.
Damn.
great thread
NavyCorpsman - Very eloquent and well thought out post. I hope a Blue-Namer does you the justice of a vote-up.
Already done!!!
Sam Sheridan has some great lines about Nog in A FIGHTERS HEART that sum the man up perfectly. At the end of the chapter on the third Nog vs. Fedor fight, he says:
The promoters had the crowd give self-congratulatory cheers as midnight approached. There was a brief countdown and a big cheer and we all found ourselves sheepishly looking at one another, depressed but willing to smile and exchange hugs; they included me even though I didn't deserve it. Rodrigo, with his face starting to swell, hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek, and I was filled with love for the guy. He just has a lot of love in his heart. It's what has made him.
Love has given him belief in himself. It's what makes a dog fight past forty-five minutes. Love is what makes us great and this display of strength, heart, and love is what brings us all to the fights.
Mark Hunter -NavyCorpsman - Very eloquent and well thought out post. I hope a Blue-Namer does you the justice of a vote-up.
Already done!!!
And done !
*sniff sniff
damn onions
I stared at the screen in total disbelief.
Mir hit the transition Karo used to do.
Nog is such a winner, a durable grinder. Never thought I would see the day he got tapped. It just adds to Frank Mir's legacy.