Rodrigo Minotauro while still ahead against Mir at UFC 140. The fight would unravel for him while still in the first round. Photo: UFC/Zuffa
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, or Minotauro for short, is a Jiu-Jitsu and MMA fighter so special that even when he messes up bad he gets millions of fans to learn from him.
The native of the Brazilian state of Bahia returned to weightlifting workouts in Rio de Janeiro this past weekend and gathered the press at his training center to show off the surgical scar on his arm and his ever-beaming smile.
The former UFC and Pride FC champion looked back on the loss he suffered at the hands of Frank Mir early last December, an incident that provoked an endless stream of debate and discussion at Jiu-Jitsu academies across Brazil that carries on to this day. It’s pretty much become a case of “what not to do.”
Watch the fight, clicking here.
“I had two moments in that fight: I saw the win and saw the loss. I broke into celebration during the fight. I stopped hitting him in order to get the submission, but that was a miserable decision. I got worried later because I saw the arm broken, and it’s hard to go back and start everything all over again,” Rodrigo told Brazil’s Sportv television network. “It hurts the body, but when you do what you love, it’s worth the price.”
KNOCK OUT OR TAP OUT—THAT WAS NOT THE QUESTION
As Minotauro explained after the fight, he stopped pounding on a groggy Frank Mir after hearing the referee ask him not to hit behind the head, and in a fraction of a second he resolved to go for the throat with a risky guillotine. He ended up on bottom and got caught.
Whether to hit or sub, in the end, depends a lot on what the athlete is feeling at that moment, and to the GRACIEMAG.com team that’s not something to be criticized. Or did Maurício Shogun, who kept hitting and didn’t finish Dan Henderson, get it right?
Hence, the lesson we learn is:
If you’re on top and winning, never risk trying a Jiu-Jitsu hold where you’ll end up on bottom. Especially in MMA or a real fight situation.
What about you, dear reader, what did you learn from Minotauro’s loss? Share with us, so we can put a full stop to the issue and let Mino get on with his life.
