Minotauro’s speech

Before stepping into the octagon for his chance to clear his record and have revenge for the knockout he suffered at the hands of Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira found himself in the spotlight when he went to receive an award from ABMN (Brazilian association for marketing and business) in Rio de Janeiro on the second of the month. Only two people from sports had ever won the award for standout marketing before him – soccer phenom Zico and racing legend Ayrton Senna.

“It’s a tough time for me to be here talking to you. Not too many people know how I learned to cope with the obstacles life threw my way at an early age. The toughest moment so far was when I was run over, but I got back in the saddle and joined the world of martial arts. I beat great opponents, won a lot of fights, won world titles. Then came the hip injury in 2010, and as I was already used to overcoming hurdles, I returned to my winning ways at UFC Brazil in August. It is with great pride that I accept this award, alongside great figures who have also won the award. I thank God, my family, friends, all of you and my fans, who once again helped me win at a critical moment in my life. Thank you all,” said Minotauro in gratitude.

The Brazilian is already in Canada with his trainers Luiz Dórea and Amaury Bitetti, as well as his brother Rogério Minotouro, who will take on Tito Ortiz. The twins have already had a training session in Toronto. In the evening’s main event, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones puts his belt on the line against Lyoto Machida. Check out the card:

UFC 140
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada
December 10, 2011

Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida
Frank Mir vs Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
Tito Ortiz vs Antônio Rogério Nogueira
Mark Hominick vs Chan Sung Jung

Under card
Krzysztof Soszynski vs Igor Pokrajac
Jared Hamman vs Constantinos Philippou
John Makdessi vs Dennis Hallman
Yves Jabouin vs Walel Watson
Mark Bocek vs Nik Lentz
Rich Attonito vs Jake Hecht
Mitch Clarke vs John Cholish
Claude Patrick vs Brian Ebersole