Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Pride Fighting Championships: You had 2 consecutive wins last year in Pride. How do you feel about that? Rogerio Nogueira: I think I made a good debut in PRIDE. In my first fight (PRIDE 20 Vs. Yusuke Imamura), I had trained to be able to fight whether it was standing or went to the ground but I was able to finish him quickly. My second fight (PRIDE 24 Vs. Guy Mezger) was against a fighter with a lot of experience. He was able to keep it off the ground and we had a stand-up battle. I won in the end, though.

Pride:	Kazuhiro Nakamura will be your third opponent.
R	ogerio
Nogueira:	I had already started training before the match was signed. The Brazilian Top Team's coach is very strict. There is no way we can get away with not training for an extended period. That's why I'm ready to fight anytime, anywhere.
Pride:	How's your conditioning?
R	ogerio
Nogueira:	Perfect!
Pride:	What's your impression of Nakamura?
R	ogerio
Nogueira:	I don't know anything about him other than he is a judo competitor.
Pride:	What do you think about judo?
R	ogerio
Nogueira:	I think it's a great martial art.
Pride:	Is there anything inside you that says "I don't want to lose to a judo fighter"?
R	ogerio
Nogueira:	No, not at all. I only feel that I don't want to lose to anyone, regardless of their background.
Pride:	Nakamura has been active in the judo world but this will be his first Pride fight. Will striking be your main strategy?
R	ogerio
Nogueira:	No. I don't know how the fight will go because I don't know what's going to happen.
Pride:	He was raised in judo and his teacher is Hidehiko Yoshida. Do you think Nakamura's ground techniques represent a threat to you?
R	ogerio
Nogueira:	He's definitely a threat but I'm confident in my ground skills. I train to be able to deal with all kinds of ground techniques.
Pride:	Who would you like to fight next? And what's your goal for 2003?
R	ogerio
Nogueira:	I don't choose my opponents. My only goal for 2003 is to win.
Pride:	You said that you want to be a Pride Champion at the same time as your brother. I guess that means that you'll be going after Silva's Middleweight Championship title.
R	ogerio
Nogueira:	Yes. That's my dream.
Pride:	Do you have any message for your fans?
R	ogerio
Nogueira:	To all of my fans, thank you for supporting me. I'll do my best so please cheer for me.