Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was knocked out by Roy Nelson last week at UFC Fight Night 39 in Abu Dhabi and it was the second straight defeat for the former interim UFC heavyweight champion
Following the knockout, many people suggested that Nogueira should retire and UFC President Dana White would like to see him call it a career.
“As soon as he got knocked out, I was getting blown by media guys saying, ‘what you want him to do.'” White said at his post fight scrum following The Ultimate Fighter Nations. “Out of respect for Nogueira, I did not want to say anything until he said something publicly. Then he came out and said he wants to fight Frank Mir. I do not want to see Nogueira fight ever again, he should retire.”
White would go on to say that Nogueira is one of the most respected fighters in the world, but he does not want to see him fight again.
“He is a warhorse. The guy has been in; just the battles in Pride that he’s been in, let alone the fights that he’s fought in the UFC. He is one of the most respected fighters in the world by other fighters, let alone by fans and I like him very much too. I wanted to give him the opportunity to say something first, but now I’m going to say ‘Big Nog, I love you, but I’d love you to never fight again.'”
Nogueira (34-9-1, 1NC) has gone 3-5 since he won the interim UFC heavyweight title in 2008 and the defeats have come against Mir, Cain Velasquez, Fabricio Werdum, and Nelson. He has only scored a victory once in his last four fights and that was against Dave Herman, who is no longer in the UFC.