A raucous Curitiba crowd had plenty to cheer about when Antonio Rogerio Nogueira clobbered Patrick Cummins in the first round.
Nogueira picked up his first win since 2013 with his first-round TKO showing. The official end came at 4:52 of the first round.
It was a tentative start to the fight as Cummins stayed on the outside, and Nogueira was trying to locate his range. Cummins threw more leg kicks than usual early on in the round. Nogueira landed a good straight left that caught Cummins' attention. Cummins immediately clinched with the Brazilian.
His leg kicks were highly successful with a focus on the inside low kick. Then the round shifted with just one punch.
Nogueira clipped Cummins with a right hand that wobbled his legs. The Brazilian smelled blood and began to pile on the offense. His signature left hand would be the weapon of choice as Cummins was out on his feet, but the referee continued to let Nogueira brutalize the American. Eventually, even he had seen enough.
Cummins had a decent game plan, but his inability to get the fight to the mat all but removed his chances of winning the fight. Nogueira is a much-better striker, and Cummins was forced to play with fire. He got burned.
The former Penn State Nittany Lion is still a decent fighter to have on the roster, but fighting top-tier light heavyweights isn't what he should be doing. The UFC should look toward the bottom of the roster for his next opponent. A favorable matchup against hard-hitting Steve Bosse is a fight that makes sense.
Nogueira, on the other hand, is back in the fray at 205 pounds.
The fight that stands out for Nogueira to take next is against Ovince Saint Preux. OSP is coming off a failed title bid against Jon Jones, and the two would meet in an important fight to elevate the winner back into title contention.
That is for the future, but the present saw Nogueira announce his return to the light heavyweight division's upper echelon. Father Time may be catching up to him, but he has enough left in the tank to be a danger. Just ask Cummins.
Nogueira’s TKO was a feel-good moment for UFC 198’s Brazilian crowd.
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