One of the most interesting characters on this season of The Ultimate Fighter is Al "Stankie" Stankiewicz, the old coot of a boxing coach who's there working with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's team.Stankie was an L.A. cop and a professional boxer in the 1960s and 70s, and he's got some good stories to tell, as he does in an interview with CagePotato.com.
He's also got great confidence in Nogueira as Nogueira heads into his fight with Frank Mir at UFC 92:
How did you meet Nogueira?Stankie is the kind of guy who's got so many fascinating insights that you just want him to keep talking. The whole interview is well worth a read.In 1996 I was in Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro with Vitor Belfort. And he said, "See that guy over there hitting the heavy bag? That's Nogueira." You know his nickname, it means half-man, half-beast. ... He's a great guy, and tough as they come. Once he gets Frank Mir in the cage, Mir is done. He can't hang with Nogueira. ...
What do you think makes Nogueira such a great fighter?
Desire. Determination. The d's. He's got 'em. And he's got the a's, especially the attitude. He's got the attitude to be number one. ... Watch what he does to Frank Mir. He's going to eat him up.
