Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: "I want to fight the top guys in the UFC."
by Alfredo Reyes on October 14, 2012

Last night at UFC 153 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira faced off the against the young heavyweight prospect Dave Herman.

The bout was the co-main event of the evening, and marked Nogueira's return to the Octagon after sustaining a broken arm in his fight against Frank Mir at UFC 140.

The two heavyweights began the fight trading powerful blows. Nogueira tried to take Herman down several times, but the former collegiate wrestler displayed strong takedown defense, forcing a stand up battle in the first round which Nogueira took advantage of, displaying his superior boxing to easily pick Herman apart. 

Then in the second round, Nogueira rocked Herman badly, took him to the ground and caught him in a tight armbar which forced a tap against Herman -- who hadn't been tapped previously in his 26-fight career and had been very vocal in his disdain for Brazilian jiu-jitsu and dismissive of Nogueira's ability to submit him.

After his impressive victory over Herman, Nogueira wants to continue fighting the top competition in the UFC's heavyweight division.

"Man I don't know," Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira told MMAFighting.com "You know, I want to fight the top-10 guys. I want to fight the top guys in the UFC. I can't ask for the belt because of my buddy, my partner trainer. He is kinda like my brother, Junior Dos Santos. I'm going to be helping him in the next two weeks in his camp to fight against Cain [Velasquez]. I wanna be in the top-10, fighting the best guys. At least helping the sport in Brazil. Be over there between the best guys in the heavyweight division."

 |  (12) Comments Mtx: Such a nice guy, definitely one of my favs of all time... xxxFishxxx: i really want Big Nog to retire.I just dont think he is competitive at that top level. All that is left is to slowly become chuck liddell. Giada Esposito: I would hate to see Big Nog get more tough losses, but I love watching him fight and it's hard to tell someone as competitive as him to hang up his gloves. Hopefully he can get a couple more wins and retire gracefully on a nice winning streak. He's such an awesome, classy guy. :) Wandering_Minstrel: Big Nog is undoubtedly one of the nicest, classiest guys in the sport. I say give him a fringe Top 10-er and see what happens... SicJits: It'd be nice to see him go out with a nice Sub W, but i think he might hang around abit to long....hope not snuff: I still don't see how you guys think Big Nog is fading. His loss to Mir, as legit as it is, was his own doing. Instead of pounding away, he chose to play a dangerous game. He's been pummeling guys standing up. His last two losses were to Cain and Mir. Legit big men. So what's the problem? I say keep on fighting Nog. You may have gotten old, 36, though you look like 46, but you can still kick butt. xxxFishxxx: this herman win in some ways has made things worse. is there really a top 5 guy that you see Big Nog beating at this point?
WHO WINS THE MAIN EVENT AT UFC 162 BETWEEN ANDERSON SILVA AND CHRIS WEIDMAN?
Silva via Decision
Silva via TKO/KO
Silva via Submission
Weidman via Decision
Weidman via TKO/KO
Weidman via Submission
TAKE ANOTHER POLL!