http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xiv51_rodrigo-minotauro-vs-sergey-kharito I was just watching his fight with Nogueira (not for the first time) And I am convinced he should have got the decision. He out-jabbed and out struck Nogueira with better punches and for when it was on the ground with the exception of Nog mounting Sergey for a few seconds at the end of the 1st round, Sergey was on top dominating most of the time. It was in no terms a dominant performance and he didn't dominate Nogueira, it was close. But i cannot see what made the judges give Nog the win? Sergei got the better of him in the stand up and on the ground. There is no reason that Sergei should have lost that fight, he should have won a close decision. I wonder if him losing had anything to do with PRIDE wanting to set up the megafight with Nogeuira and Fedor?
Haven't watched it for awhile, but I distinctly remember Nog generally winning the fight. He was doing just enough to get by Sergei so he would be in good shape to face Fedor.
Theres definately a strong case for Kharitonov winning the standup, which I think he did, but a few different factors played into Nog winning that fight I think. 1)The groundwork was initiated by Nog 2)This was at a time when Nog's guard was considered one of the dealiest weapons in the game, and therefore the judges didn't really give Kharitonov much credit for working from there 3)When on the ground, Nog secured the better positions for longer peroids of time, whereas Kharitonov would seem to give them up 4)Kharitonov's relationship with Fedor, I don't remeber if Fedor was still with Russian Top Team at the time, but they were still considered friends and Pride might not have wanted them to fight in the finals. I personally agree with the decision though.
After rewatching it...I'd say it was a draw. The judges could've given the decision to any of em but they picked Nogueira because everybody wanted to see a Nog vs Fedor rematch at the time.
