The third team has just been announced for Quintet 5 on October 23rd, 2025, as MMA legend Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira will be leading Team Nogueira into action. This will be the very first time that the promotion has made the trip to Dubai to stage an event, and there’s already some serious talent announced for it. Team Nogueira is no exception and although ‘Big Nog’ himself won’t be competing, he’ll be coaching the 5 men on his team throughout the tournament. They don’t have quite the same level of grappling star-power that some of their opposing teams do, but all 5 of their competitors are incredibly tough to beat.
The biggest name on Team Nogueira is probably Pouya Rahmani, the Iranian beach wrestling expert and MMA veteran who’s had a pretty big impact on the Jiu-Jitsu world lately. Rahmani played a cautious game perfectly at Pit Submission Series 4 to earn an upset decision win over Kaynan Duarte just last year. Rahmani didn’t show any submission-threat in that match but he was incredibly disciplined in his defense, so it’s unlikely anyone submits him at Quintet 5. Rahmani isn’t the only MMA fighter on the team either, as Abdelraouf Midl has a 6-2-1 professional record and he’s shown some great grappling during his career.
Thiago Sa is probably the most experienced grappler on the team and he’s multiple solid runs at ADCC Trials in recent years, establishing himself as a solid contender in Brazil in the process. Sa isn’t Team Nogueira’s only submission-threat though, as they also have a pair of talented Russian grappler who will round out the team. Nicolay Vetrov and Zeliman Kadhaev are those final two teammates and although they’re not as well-known as half the competitors at Quintet 5, they’re both forces to be reckoned with on their local circuit. Team Nogueira will certainly be the underdogs but if they can stick to a tactically sound gameplan, they could still come away with the win.
Quintet announced the lineup for Team Nogueira at Quintet 5 in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
