And this is the reason why nobody heard any excuses from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira after Russian Emelianenko Fedor took his heavyweight belt at the last Pride event. 'Minotauro' is a true champion not only for his great victories inside the ring but also for his attitude outside it, and his behaviour after the loss proved it once again.
The fact that Fedor is a very powerful and well-rounded fighter is undeniable. Besides that, he fought like a monster on the evening of March 16th, and everyone saw it. However, people still question Minotauro's performance in that fight. And questions remained: what does the Brazilian have to say about it?
'I fought badly and did not do anything right,' admits the former champion. 'And after he hit me hard in the beginning of the fight, the truth is that I was not comfortable playing from the guard, and any time he touched the right side of my face, the pain was nearly unbearable.'
For those who didn't see the fight, it is important to describe the moment
he alludes to. In the first minute of the fight Fedor threw a right punch that sent Minotauro through the ropes. When the BTT fighter was still regaining his bearings, the Russian waded forward and connected with some accurate hits to Minotauro's face.
'My body was on the ground but my head wasn't, because it was held by the
rope. So it was impossible to escape from the punches,' remembers Minotauro.
'The blood did not came out but I tasted it. From then on I fought avoiding
exposing my right side.'
At that specific moment Rodrigo broke a bone near his nose and, and when he arrived in Brazil, he went through a complicated surgery that fixed it with a titanium pin. Seeing how bad the injury turns out to be, Minotauro's performance turns into a hero's act.
The surgery will keep the Brazilian off of the mats for 6 weeks. But Minotauro is kind of a workaholic and he won't stop. He's traveling next week to Gennep, Holland, where, under the supervision of the physiologist Bert Wingenden, he will try to heal an old injury in his lower back.
About his future, Rodrigo promises: 'I'll be back even better'. And according to him, much faster than anyone expects.
We shall see. "
Leniwy Kain
"Tamten frajer z drugiej strony to odwieczny wróg ,rozkaz padł rzucasz granat, on juz jest bez nóg.Miał 20 lat jak ty i chciał rzucić też,ty dostaniesz wielki order z niego tryska krew"