Counting down to the best MMA fighter of all time

#5 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (1999-2015)

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: The first PRIDE Heavyweight Champion

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is twin brother to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and between them, the Brazilians took the MMA world by storm.

Rodrigo Nogueira in particular has achieved what few Heavyweights in MMA history ever have.

Nogueira holds the distinction of being the only man to have held the UFC and PRIDE Heavyweight Championships. He was the first man to wear PRIDE Heavyweight gold when he defeated Heath Herring at PRIDE 17. He held that title for 16 months before he was upended by Fedor Emelianenko, who would hold it until the belt was deactivated.

"Big Nog" won the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship versus Tim Sylvia in just his second appearance for the promotion at UFC 81 on February 2, 2008. However, Nogueira's achievements are far more than two titles won.

Nogueira fought an incredible 21 times for PRIDE in just five years, and scored wins over huge names such as: Mark Coleman, Gary Goodridge, Bob Sapp, Dan Henderson, Ricco Rodriguez, Mirko Cro Cop, Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett.

In UFC he defeated legends such as: Sylvia and Randy Couture.

Ostensibly a grappler, "Big Nog" jointly holds the record for most submissions in PRIDE history with 11, shared with Kazushi Sakuraba. Nogueira was also a supremely talented striker and achieved several wins via Knockout as well.

Like Sakuraba and Silva, his frequent fighting in PRIDE took a toll on his body and he fought less frequently, with less success as he grew older and lost his final three fights.

However, no one can take away what "Big Nog" achieved in his 16 year career.