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Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Wants To Stop Retirement Talks

May 25, 2016 | Posted by Joseph Lee

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira spoke about his recent UFC 198 win over Patrick Cummins and the recent talk that he might retire. Here are highlights:

On what went through his mind after he stopped Cummins: “It’s not possible this isn’t ending. He went down and I kept punching. Fighters tend to turn their heads and give us the back of the head so we can’t punch, so I was just landing hammerfists and the referee wouldn’t stop it. (Luiz Carlos) Dorea told me there was a minute left so I thought ‘I’ll let him get back up and I’ll drop him again’. When I landed the first sequence, I heard the sound indicating we had 10 seconds, and I thought ‘it’s not possible’ [laughs].”

On proving he still has it: “It was about time. I’m in the stage of my career that people say that it’s time to retire already, to put an end to the career, and this fight showed that I’m fighting well with high level fighters. It came in the perfect time.Brazilian fans are very critical, but it’s normal in every sport. Those who like you criticize you, and we have to listen to fans and media. Their opinion is important to train harder and get another win. I trained harder and better this time, with more quality.”

On his next fight: “There’s a chance I’ll take another fight soon. I’ll rest for a week or 10 days, and then come back to training again and maybe be back in three months. If there’s a UFC card in Brazilian (in September), I’d like to be there.”