5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Nogueira gets another Top 5 finish here, adding to his No. 3 on Sherdog's greatest heavyweights and No. 4 on the top Pride fighters as well coming in as one of the top Brazilians. When “Big Nog” submitted reigning Pride Grand Prix champion Mark Coleman at Pride 16 in September 2001, then defeated Heath Herring a month later at Pride 17 for the vacant heavyweight title, he ushered in a new era of heavyweight talent and skill. Tall and athletic, Nogueira could do a lot more than what one expected of a BJJ virtuoso, as he was also a capable wrestler and had solid muay thai striking that would only get better over the years. Furthermore, he had a titanium chin and endless toughness, which was exemplified in his classic victory over Bob Sapp, a man 150 pounds of muscle heavier who piledrove Nogueira’s head into the canvas at one point.
After just a year and a half as champ and five more wins—the two impressive being submissions of Semmy Schilt and Dan Henderson—Nogueira was shockingly and convincingly defeated by an unheralded Russian fighter from the Rings organization. But this is where things get interesting. While he would stay firmly as the No. 2 heavyweight behind Fedor Emelianenko, including decisively losing their rematch at Pride Shockwave 2004, Nogueira's resume after losing the title is actually far more impressive than it was while he was the champ. He armbarred Mirko Filipovic, choked out Herring in a rematch, defeated Sergei Kharitonov by decision, beat Fabricio Werdum in 2006, avenged a split decision loss to Josh Barnett and finally, choked out Tim Sylvia in 2008 after switching to the UFC. It was an absolutely amazing run, with only the Emelianenko and Barnett losses marring 12 victories against excellent opposition. Alas, by the time of his next fight against Frank Mir, while only 32 years old, Nogueira was already past his prime, having endured brutal punishment in over 35 professional fights, and succumbed to punches in the second. Still, Nogueira ended the decade on a high with a dominant decision over similarly faded legend and previous entry Randy Couture in 2009. Nogueira enjoyed over eight years of great wins and dominance against everyone except Fedor during the 2000s, a stunning achievement.
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