FanPost

Why Big Nog Won't Fight For The UFC Title

Most of us die-hard MMA fans are fully aware of the fact that Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro Noguiera is probably the most skilled Heavyweight ever to fight in the UFC. So why then, in his two and a half years in the UFC, has he not yet fought for the real UFC Heavyweight belt? And why is he stuck fighting up-n-comers like Velasquez while lesser men like Carwin and Mir get title shots? There are many possible ways of explaining this away but the fact remains that despite being the most accomplished and proven fighter in the division, he hasn't had a shot at the title. I expect this pattern to continue indefinitely. When Nog was interim champ during Randy's absence, he was passed over in favor of 1-1 Lesnar. Then for inexplicable reasons, he had to defend his interim title, even though the real title had already changed hands. Now he is fighting Cain Velasquez and it's not even being called a No 1 contender fight. Why??


The answer is simple MMA math. Dana White will not allow Nog to fight for the title because Nog has already lost twice to Strikeforce-posterboy-&-Dana-nemesis, Fedor Emelianenko. After all his trash talking about Fedor, Dana cannot afford to have his most prestigious belt worn by a man whom Strikeforce's goldenboy has already bested on more than one occasion. If Nog were to win the title, no amount of DW spin would be able to counter SF's simple factual claim that "Our Champ beat your champ" (Assuming Overeem will lose or be stripped.) Dana can't risk that kind of delegitimization of his claim to having the best fighters in the world.

Dana will never come out and tell us this, because he wants to hang on to Nog and his fans. But if you're thinking that beating Cain will finally get Nog his long-overdue title shot, don't hold your breath. To get a shot at Brock, Nog will have to beat every other contender worth mentioning, and probably some that aren't .

I pray that I'm wrong about this, but I doubt it. Knowing Dana, he wont give Nog a shot until Fedor loses or leaves SF, or until there is simply no one else left in the UFC to throw at Brock.

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