Introduction
UFC Fight Night 39: Nogueira vs. Nelson took place on Friday, April 11, 2014 at the du Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — broadcast exclusively on UFC Fight Pass. The event was the second UFC event ever held in Abu Dhabi, following UFC 112 in April 2010 — exactly four years and one day earlier — and the first UFC event staged at the du Arena. It was attended by fans from across the UAE and the broader Middle East region.
The main event matched Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson — a heavyweight finisher with a 100% KO rate in his UFC wins — against Antônio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira, one of the most storied heavyweights in the history of MMA: a former PRIDE and interim UFC heavyweight champion with 21 submission wins and a decade of elite competition behind him. Nelson knocked Nogueira out in round one with his signature overhand right. The finish marked the end of a significant era in heavyweight MMA.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Friday, April 11, 2014
📍 Venue: du Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (first UFC event at this venue)
📺 Broadcast: UFC Fight Pass (exclusive; second UFC Abu Dhabi event after UFC 112 in April 2010)
🏆 Main Event: Roy Nelson vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira — Heavyweight
✅ Result: Nelson def. Nogueira via KO (overhand right) — R1, 3:37
Main Event: Nelson KOs a Legend
Nogueira was 37 years old and had accumulated four KO/TKO losses in the UFC by this point, but the name still carried enormous weight. He was one of the sport’s founding legends — the fighter who had submitted Mirko Cro Cop, taken down Fedor Emelianenko three times, and survived knockdowns that would have ended ordinary heavyweights. Nelson, by contrast, was a TUF 10 winner whose unique body type — heavily padded, beard intact, belly prominent — masked what was one of the heaviest hands in the division.
Nelson landed his overhand right at 3:37 of round one. Nogueira went down and could not recover. The referee intervened. Every UFC win in Nelson’s career had come by KO — the Nogueira finish was another data point in a record that made him one of the most dangerous heavyweights in terms of raw KO threat.
Full Results
Main Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Roy Nelson def. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira — KO (overhand right) — R1, 3:37 — Heavyweight (100% KO rate in UFC wins)
Clay Guida def. Tatsuya Kawajiri — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — Featherweight (Guida competing at FW after LW career)
Jared Rosholt def. Daniel Omieląńczuk — Unanimous Decision — Heavyweight
Abel Trujillo def. Ryan Couture — KO — R1, 4:20 — Lightweight (son of UFC legend Randy Couture)
Tom Niinimäki def. Manny Gamburyan — Split Decision — Featherweight
Leandro Silva def. Ivan Jorge — Light Heavyweight
Johnny Bedford vs. Rani Yahya — No Contest — R1, 0:39 — Bantamweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Performance of the Night: Roy Nelson + Abel Trujillo — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• Second UFC event ever in Abu Dhabi (first was UFC 112 in April 2010; 1,462 days between the two events).
• First UFC event at du Arena (Yas Island) — a venue that would become a regular UFC Abu Dhabi location.
• Roy Nelson extended his 100% KO rate in UFC wins with the Nogueira finish.
Legacy & Impact
Fight Night 39 in Abu Dhabi was the beginning of what would become a long UFC relationship with the UAE capital. The du Arena on Yas Island — home to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Formula 1 race — returned as a UFC venue multiple times through the following decade, eventually becoming the site of some of the UFC’s biggest Fight Pass and UFC Fight Night international events. The Nelson KO of Nogueira closed one chapter of heavyweight history. ‘Big Nog’ fought twice more in the UFC after this — losing a TKO to Frank Mir and a KO to Fabricio Werdum — before retirement. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2015. Roy Nelson continued his career as an entertainment-guarantee heavyweight for several more years.
FAQ
What made Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira such a significant figure in MMA history?
Nogueira was the PRIDE heavyweight champion from 2001 to 2003, defeating fighters including Bob Sapp, Mirko Cro Cop, and Heath Herring. He joined the UFC in 2007 and won the interim UFC heavyweight title in 2008 by submitting Tim Sylvia. His BJJ — 56 submission attempts in UFC/PRIDE, most in combined history at his career peak — was legendary. He had survived a Fedor Emelianenko armbar attempt that visibly hyperextended his elbow, survived multiple KO shots from Mirko Cro Cop, and had been considered essentially impossible to put away during his prime. His career defined the transitional era between early PRIDE and the modern UFC heavyweight division.
What was Roy Nelson’s fighting style and why was he so dangerous?
Nelson was a TUF Season 10 winner and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie. He was known primarily as a KO artist despite his unorthodox physical profile. His overhand right was thrown with full hip rotation and consistently surprised opponents who underestimated his speed. He had 511 significant strikes absorbed in his UFC career without ever being knocked out — the most by any UFC heavyweight to survive unfinished at that point. His trademark beard and physique made him one of the most visually distinctive fighters in the promotion’s history. Every UFC win he had ever earned came by KO.
Why was the UFC returning to Abu Dhabi after four years?
UFC 112 in April 2010 had been a significant event — Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia at light heavyweight had been broadly criticised for Silva’s lack of engagement, but the event overall demonstrated that the Middle East market had appetite for live UFC events. Fight Night 39 was the follow-up, this time on Fight Pass rather than PPV. Abu Dhabi’s combination of strong expatriate community, high disposable income, luxury sports infrastructure (Yas Island had hosted Formula 1 since 2009), and government sports investment made it a natural UFC destination. The du Arena partnership that began with Fight Night 39 would later support multiple UFC Fight Night cards through the 2010s and 2020s, eventually hosting ‘Fight Island’ events during the COVID-19 pandemic.