Short, yet dangerous (Profile of Alexandre Pequeno Nogueira)

[Shooto Panama]

A profile of Alexandre Pequeno Nogueira, the greatest name in the history of Shooto


When this reduced version of Hercules arrives once again in Medina, a 20 thousand inhabitants town in Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil, in order to rest after a new feat in the rings, he won’t be welcomed exclusively by a party. There are some who bet that, in the corral of the Franca Nogueiras’ farm, the oxen will never cease to blink and moo as they feel the local star spproach.

“Uncle, I’ll go over there with the bullocks and will be right back,” young Alexandre would say on his vacation, smiling back at the immediate grunts uttered by the elder relatives. “Crazy kid!” they’d say. Once in the corral, Pequeno’s challenge was to give takedowns to as many bullocks as possible by unbalancing them, performing levers with his 5’6’’, 148lb body, and dodging the kicks by the confused training partners.

“Pequeno is not an ordinary guy,” Rodrigo Minotauro usually states. “He’s got amazing strength for his size,” says the 232lb fighter. Anyway, except for the bullocks, the party is undisputed when Shooto’s super-champion arrives in the town next to Rio-Bahia highway trying to forget everything. “Every time, I take 60 shirts there. Some days I go to the public square and everyone is wearing the same outfit – it’s like the uniform of a football team,” says the 27 year-old champion.

Next time it won’t be different. Besides having tamed another tough bull, Pequeno will arrive having beaten, on March 11th, 2005, Nova Uniao professor Joao Roque, one of his most respected opponents in the category. And in his luggage there will be a respectable record: the belt has been his for the past six years.

They are wrong who associate his success exclusively with the preparedness given by the country life and the rustic training methods he creates – like taking on several karate fighters at a time at the only academy in Medina.

Alexandre Franca Nogueira was actually born in Madureira, in Rio de Janeiro city. At 12, as he moved to Urca, his favorite pastimes were underwater fishing and running after kites. “I’d run like mad, jump off windows, run on rooftops, go up Urca hill… and then would come down with many kites and balloons on my sholder,” he recalls, referring to the hill where he still performs his physical preparation for bouts. After the kid fell twice from the neighboring roofs, his father got worried with the excessive energy and demanded: it was time for Alexandre to choose a sport.

“I visited all sorts of academies, but Eugenio Tadeu’s, behind Urca Casino and close to my home, was the one I liked most,” says Nogueira, who recalls being frightened, at age 14, as he saw women perform locks and chokes. The fighter recollects he spent two weeks only watching the luta livre sessions, until he decided to take part in them. “There were only 200lb guys training at the time, I’d vanish as I went into the opponents,” he says, explaining the nickname (which means “short, small”) coined by friend Sérgio “Formiga.”

Keen observer since the first couple of trainings, Pequeno says this trait favors him to this day. He likes watching all of his opponents’ combats, as well as his own – and that’s not all: “Toniko and Sergio Cunha want to organize a Shooto Brazil edition whenever I’m two weeks away from fighting in Japan. It’s because every time I watch striking fights I learn a bit more, and get some of that energy going,” he assures.

On Wednesdays, Pequeno arrives precisely at 6p.m. in Shooto Brazil academy, in Niterói, where he shifts from his ground lessons to Ricardo Arona’s Jiu-Jitsu ones. For the training, he wears blue gi shorts and a black belt – loose, despite the two turns around his waist. Among his oldest pupils is Antonio, age 57, who in Itacoatiara beach has even shown Arona, age 26, a hard time: he took the Pride star out to sail with long boards for about three hours. The following day, the black-belt was in great pain, whereas old Toni was okay. “Some people are great fighters; others, great teachers. But Pequeno gathers all three characteristics: he is a great person as well,” says Royler Gracie’s former student. Pequeno has about 30 pupils, amongst which Japanese Kumi Iriya, a woman who’s worked in Pride and got to Brazil in November, 2004, to learn Portuguese. “Pequeno is not as popular in Japan as Minotauro or Wanderlei, because Pride is above other events. Under it is Deep and only then comes Shooto,” explains Kumi. “But everybody recognizes him as the strongest lightweight there is,” says the young fan. As he walked out of his 6th belt-maintenance match victorious, Pequeno broke Noboru Asahi’s record, formerly the greatest legend of the organization founded in 1986.

In search of more fame (and consequently higher money prizes) Pequeno intends to go on to fight and beat 20lb heavier opponents, but for now he enjoys his victory over Joao Roque. “Unlike many fans, I didn’t deem this fight a luta livre vs. Jiu-Jitsu fight, but instead a struggle of two guys prepared to grab the belt,” he claims. Indeed, Pequeno has never cared about rivalries, and always strived to improve his game in many of Rio’s academies – an attitude applauded by master Eugenio Tadeu. “I’d visit the Jiu-Jitsu academies and ask to train with the gi on. I trained with Royler, Pederneiras, Bitetti…” he lists. “Training with Carlson was the hardest. He found out I was from luta livre and told the guys to fight for real,” he laughs. However, when he became interested in practising muay thai elsewhere, Eugenio didn’t like it and left the team, in 1999.

His taste for Jiu-Jitsu made Pequeno enter the 1994 State Championships, where he submitted four adversaries and beat ”a tough judo fighter” whose name he doesn’t recall in the final. He still keeps the medal.

Strong, technical, open-minded and with great experience from training with standouts from many styles (he stills trains with Arona and, in Curitiba, with Anderson Silva and José Pelé), does the king of guillotines hold any secret? “The bridge,” he answers. But, how’s that again? “The Rio–Niterói bridge. As I ride my motorcycle daily, nothing better to enhance my reflexes than dodging the fast-moving cars! Once a car appeared in front of me, the motorcycle hit it, and I – in mid-air – grabbed the car’s rack to save myself from the asphalt. All the people were staring at me,” says the mini Indiana Jones.

With so many friends in m.m.a., like Arona, Wanderlei and Minotouro, does Pequeno have a favorite for Pride’s middleweight Grand Prix [won by Maurício Shogun last December]? “I can’t bet on anyone. The level is just too high,” he smiles. Good reflexes, Pequeno…

[scorcho]

Very nice. Thanks for the article Shooto.

[derUbermensch]

I'll laugh if he guillotines Tequilla

[Adam Slaughter]

thnx shooto!

[knowerofknowing]

Originally Posted by Shooto Panama

reduced version of Hercules

Tough luck for Pequeno since Melendez just picked up the coat of Nessus.

[edgerrin32]

Originally Posted by derUbermensch

I'll laugh if he guillotines Tequilla

you wont be finding the fight very funny then.

[DetroitBushido]

Originally Posted by Shooto Panama

A profile of Alexandre Pequeno Nogueira, the greatest name in the history of Shooto


When this reduced version of Hercules arrives once again in Medina, a 20 thousand inhabitants town in Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil, in order to rest after a new feat in the rings, he won’t be welcomed exclusively by a party. There are some who bet that, in the corral of the Franca Nogueiras’ farm, the oxen will never cease to blink and moo as they feel the local star spproach.

“Uncle, I’ll go over there with the bullocks and will be right back,” young Alexandre would say on his vacation, smiling back at the immediate grunts uttered by the elder relatives. “Crazy kid!” they’d say. Once in the corral, Pequeno’s challenge was to give takedowns to as many bullocks as possible by unbalancing them, performing levers with his 5’6’’, 148lb body, and dodging the kicks by the confused training partners.

“Pequeno is not an ordinary guy,” Rodrigo Minotauro usually states. “He’s got amazing strength for his size,” says the 232lb fighter. Anyway, except for the bullocks, the party is undisputed when Shooto’s super-champion arrives in the town next to Rio-Bahia highway trying to forget everything. “Every time, I take 60 shirts there. Some days I go to the public square and everyone is wearing the same outfit – it’s like the uniform of a football team,” says the 27 year-old champion.

Next time it won’t be different. Besides having tamed another tough bull, Pequeno will arrive having beaten, on March 11th, 2005, Nova Uniao professor Joao Roque, one of his most respected opponents in the category. And in his luggage there will be a respectable record: the belt has been his for the past six years.

They are wrong who associate his success exclusively with the preparedness given by the country life and the rustic training methods he creates – like taking on several karate fighters at a time at the only academy in Medina.

Alexandre Franca Nogueira was actually born in Madureira, in Rio de Janeiro city. At 12, as he moved to Urca, his favorite pastimes were underwater fishing and running after kites. “I’d run like mad, jump off windows, run on rooftops, go up Urca hill… and then would come down with many kites and balloons on my sholder,” he recalls, referring to the hill where he still performs his physical preparation for bouts. After the kid fell twice from the neighboring roofs, his father got worried with the excessive energy and demanded: it was time for Alexandre to choose a sport.

“I visited all sorts of academies, but Eugenio Tadeu’s, behind Urca Casino and close to my home, was the one I liked most,” says Nogueira, who recalls being frightened, at age 14, as he saw women perform locks and chokes. The fighter recollects he spent two weeks only watching the luta livre sessions, until he decided to take part in them. “There were only 200lb guys training at the time, I’d vanish as I went into the opponents,” he says, explaining the nickname (which means “short, small”) coined by friend Sérgio “Formiga.”

Keen observer since the first couple of trainings, Pequeno says this trait favors him to this day. He likes watching all of his opponents’ combats, as well as his own – and that’s not all: “Toniko and Sergio Cunha want to organize a Shooto Brazil edition whenever I’m two weeks away from fighting in Japan. It’s because every time I watch striking fights I learn a bit more, and get some of that energy going,” he assures.

On Wednesdays, Pequeno arrives precisely at 6p.m. in Shooto Brazil academy, in Niterói, where he shifts from his ground lessons to Ricardo Arona’s Jiu-Jitsu ones. For the training, he wears blue gi shorts and a black belt – loose, despite the two turns around his waist. Among his oldest pupils is Antonio, age 57, who in Itacoatiara beach has even shown Arona, age 26, a hard time: he took the Pride star out to sail with long boards for about three hours. The following day, the black-belt was in great pain, whereas old Toni was okay. “Some people are great fighters; others, great teachers. But Pequeno gathers all three characteristics: he is a great person as well,” says Royler Gracie’s former student. Pequeno has about 30 pupils, amongst which Japanese Kumi Iriya, a woman who’s worked in Pride and got to Brazil in November, 2004, to learn Portuguese. “Pequeno is not as popular in Japan as Minotauro or Wanderlei, because Pride is above other events. Under it is Deep and only then comes Shooto,” explains Kumi. “But everybody recognizes him as the strongest lightweight there is,” says the young fan. As he walked out of his 6th belt-maintenance match victorious, Pequeno broke Noboru Asahi’s record, formerly the greatest legend of the organization founded in 1986.

In search of more fame (and consequently higher money prizes) Pequeno intends to go on to fight and beat 20lb heavier opponents, but for now he enjoys his victory over Joao Roque. “Unlike many fans, I didn’t deem this fight a luta livre vs. Jiu-Jitsu fight, but instead a struggle of two guys prepared to grab the belt,” he claims. Indeed, Pequeno has never cared about rivalries, and always strived to improve his game in many of Rio’s academies – an attitude applauded by master Eugenio Tadeu. “I’d visit the Jiu-Jitsu academies and ask to train with the gi on. I trained with Royler, Pederneiras, Bitetti…” he lists. “Training with Carlson was the hardest. He found out I was from luta livre and told the guys to fight for real,” he laughs. However, when he became interested in practising muay thai elsewhere, Eugenio didn’t like it and left the team, in 1999.

His taste for Jiu-Jitsu made Pequeno enter the 1994 State Championships, where he submitted four adversaries and beat ”a tough judo fighter” whose name he doesn’t recall in the final. He still keeps the medal.

Strong, technical, open-minded and with great experience from training with standouts from many styles (he stills trains with Arona and, in Curitiba, with Anderson Silva and José Pelé), does the king of guillotines hold any secret? “The bridge,” he answers. But, how’s that again? “The Rio–Niterói bridge. As I ride my motorcycle daily, nothing better to enhance my reflexes than dodging the fast-moving cars! Once a car appeared in front of me, the motorcycle hit it, and I – in mid-air – grabbed the car’s rack to save myself from the asphalt. All the people were staring at me,” says the mini Indiana Jones.

With so many friends in m.m.a., like Arona, Wanderlei and Minotouro, does Pequeno have a favorite for Pride’s middleweight Grand Prix [won by Maurício Shogun last December]? “I can’t bet on anyone. The level is just too high,” he smiles. Good reflexes, Pequeno…

Thanks for the read.

[LaynPrayRubnTug]

good read and a good bump.

TS should update this its a good thread about a relatively unknown fighter who is no doubt one of the goats of shooto.

its a shame "ultimate fighting" fans will probably never hear of him or see any of his bouts or any shooto fights for that matter. their loss i guess.

[stevepatsfan]

I still have not got into the scene that much, is it worth a look, where can you watch it?

[windkick]

lol, nice article