For PRIDE times, Minotouro wants to face Shogun or Dan Henderson

R.Minotouro (photo) is currently number 13 in the official UFC rankings. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

In the late 90s and early 2000s, the Japanese PRIDE event was the great exponent of world MMA. Purchased and dissolved by the UFC in 2007, the organization still evokes good memories for those who made history in the Japanese rings. This is the case of the light heavyweight Rogério Minotouro. In a recent interview, Minotouro spoke in a nostalgic tone about the times in Japan and asked to re-edit, now in the octagon, duels against two other exponents of those times: Mauritius Shogun e Dan Henderson.

“I don’t know if they are in the top 10, but (I would like to face) the Shogun and the Dan Henderson. There are two rematches that I want to do: against Shogun and with Dan Henderson. These are guys I fought in PRIDE and are in the UFC, in my category (light heavyweight). But there are two quarries”, said brother Nogueira, in an interview with the “Sensei SporTV” program.

Both Minotouro's fight against Dan Henderson as against Mauritius Shogun took place at the 2005 PRIDE middleweight GP. In the first phase, the Brazilian submitted Hendo with an armbar in the first round. In the quarterfinals, Rogério staged a historic fight against Mauritius Shogun, voted “Fight of the Year 2005”. After three rounds of intense action, Shogun won by unanimous decision from the judges.

At 38, Rogério Minotouro has a record of 21 wins and six losses. In his last fight, the Bahian was defeated in just 44 seconds by the North American Anthony Johnson, in a fight held in July.