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Fight Archives: ‘Big Nog’ scores classic armbar finish over Bob Sapp
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I’m sure you all remember the earlier days of Jiu-Jitsu. The biggest selling point at the time was that a smaller man could defeat a bigger man using pure technique.
This was the first decade of MMA before BJJ hit the mainstream. Pre-berimbolo, pre-rashguards, pre-Danaher Death Squad. Moves back then were more basic and practical, and less flashy and sporty.
Outside of the Gracies, only a handful of fighters incorporated the art into their arsenal of weapons. One of them was Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, a heavyweight out of Bahia, Brazil, and the perfect embodiment of early 2000s jiu-jitsu. And that skill set was put to the test when he faced Bob Sapp at PRIDE Shockwave in 2002.