Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Pride Fighting Championships: Is it difficult to hurt or submit a guy when you like him outside of the ring? Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: My style, I'm a submission fighter. Sometimes you've got to have something else to get the submission. So, I have to train punches and stuff. I've been practicing boxing for 2 years now and that makes it easier to go to the ground. Fighters these days have everything. They have boxing, wrestling, grappling, good sprawls, so you have to know everything. But, once I get in the ring, I have to hurt the opponent a little bit to make a space so I can get a submission. I just do that to get a submission.

Pride:	Just setting it up for a submission.
Nogueira:	Yeah, but I'm a heavyweight so sometimes it's difficult.
Pride:	You said that you often play as Arona on the PRIDE video game (for PS2). Who's your favorite fighter to watch live?
Nogueira:	I like Wanderlei Silva. He's a good showman, very violent. Sometimes I go there and want to see some blood. I know before the fight it is going to be a good, violent fight. Most of the time though, I like submission fighters. My type of guys but sometimes it's good to watch others.
Pride:	Married? Girlfriend?
Nogueira:	Girlfriend for 2 years.
Pride:	Do you want to have kids some day?
Nogueira:	I have a daughter. 3 years old.
Pride:	Does she understand what daddy does for a living?
Nogueira:	Yeah. She calls me before the fights and says, "Kill him. Hurt him. Hurt him!" When I fought Bob Sapp, she was 2 years old. She looked at the tape and said "Oh, Daddy. You fought that big, big, giant guy but you got him!"
Pride:	What if she wants to be a fighter?
Nogueira:	She asks for a gi. Every time she calls she asks for it but she's too young to practice jiu-jitsu right now. I'll let her after she turns 6 years old.
Pride:	What's the funniest thing you do with your daughter?
Nogueira:	We go to amusement parks. She loves that. Once a month she comes to my place and she makes me take her there.
Pride:	What kind of music do you listen to?
Nogueira:	Hip-hop. I like Tupac.
Pride:	What kind of car do you drive?
Nogueira:	A Toyota truck and a motorcycle.
Pride:	What kind?
Nogueira:	A Yamaha V-max. I just use it to go to the beach on Sundays.
Pride:	Do you take your daughter on the bike?
Nogueira:	Yeah, she likes it.
Pride:	Is the bike the cause of your back pain?
Nogueira:	No but I did stop riding for a while because of the pain. Actually, my physical therapist from Holland will come here because we have to work on my back just after the fight for 1 month. It's not a hernia but it's close. Last year, Pride asked me to fight 3 times straight but if I work on my back, I don't have time to train.
Pride:	You get to travel a lot. Where are you favorite places?
Nogueira:	Thailand. It's beautiful.
Pride:	Have you been to the States?
Nogueira:	Yeah, I used to live there. Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton.
Pride:	How do you feel now?
Nogueira:	I feel good. My back feels strong. I lost the last fight. When I fought the last one, I wasn't in good shape but now I've had time to fix my back and lift some weights for 2 months.
Pride:	Are you training with Peter (Aerts)?
Nogueira:	Yeah. When I go to Holland to stay for 1 month, I do my rehabilitation in the same place he works out. Everyday we lift weights and then we do muay thai for 1 hour. I think he wants to fight in vale tudo now so we practice on the ground a lot now. I teach him groundwork and he teaches me stand up.
Pride:	How is he on the ground?
Nogueira:	He's gotten much better. Last year he went to Brazil for 2 months to train. He's much better now. He's a heavy guy, he's very smart and he's flexible.