Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Pride Fighting Championships: How's you condition right now? Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Good. I've been training a lot for this fight, many hours a day, every day. We did a lot of training, specifically for him.

Pride:	Any injuries?
Nogueira:	My leg, a little bit. When we train so hard, I'll always have injuries. If I come here and I have no injuries, I didn't train. Elbows, knees but just little things. I stop for a couple of days and they get better.
Pride:	In your mind, how do you envision the fight happening?
Nogueira:	He's a good fighter. Before the fight, I always used to watch tapes of my opponent's fights. A couple of fighters, they just hold position all the time and they are kind of boring but he's got good attitude. He comes forward and I think it will be a very exciting match. I think if he comes to my world, on the ground, and I can hold him for like 4 or 5 minutes at the beginning, if I start to do my game, I think I can get him in a submission. But, I'm ready to trade punches and kicks with him, everything standing. He's got heavy hands, also.
Pride:	Do you think he's more dangerous standing up or on the ground?
Nogueira:	Standing up. I think if we fight standing up, it's 50/50. If the fight goes to the ground, I'm pretty confident I can get the win. But, he's very good at positioning on the ground and he hits very hard. I have to be careful of his punches.
Pride:	Would it be devastating to you if you lost to him?
Nogueira:	I never think about losing. I always think positive. I want to keep the belt for me and my country. I think I deserve it but if I lose, he deserves it.
Pride:	How many hours a day to you train?
Nogueira:	Some days like 6 hours, some days 5 or 8. That's between jiu-jitsu, muay thai, wrestling and I also like to train boxing. Everyday I train in like jiu-jitsu and boxing and then I lift weights.
Pride:	How many times a week do you go really hard?
Nogueira:	Some days, like Tuesday and Thursday, we train specifically for fighting. Just 25 minutes in the morning and 25 minutes at night. Other days, I will lift weights too. But, just on Tuesday and Thursday I will train about 45-50 minutes on specific fight training. The rest of the day is technique work.
Pride:	What do you do for cardio?
Nogueira:	I never run, just specific training. In my physical training, we mix weights with punching bags. We do a lot of positions very fast. Circuit training. I lift weights 3 times (per week) and we do circuit training 2 times (per week). I think it works well for me.
Pride:	You also do the muay thai drills too, right?
Nogueira:	Yeah. I think when I train on something specific like muay thai or wrestling, that works my cardio well.
Pride:	What do you think is going on in his mind in preparation for fighting you?
Nogueira:	I think he is training a lot of escapes from triangles and arm-locks. He's got a good attitude so I think he's going to try to trade punches with me and stay away from the ground.
Pride:	I think this is the true Heavyweight Championship of the world, not just limited to Pride. You 2 guys are the best of the best. After you beat him, how much longer will you continue fighting?
Nogueira:	I never think about quitting. I'm still young, just 26. Now I think I'm getting stronger. I was like 102 kilos before and now I'm 106 or 107. I think I can go until I'm about 35 or 36.