"Anderson was a little discouraged because of his feud with http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder.php?search=yes&association=Chute Boxe[Chute Boxe founder] Rudimar [Fedrigo]," Nogueira told Sherdog.com. "The doors of Pride [Fighting Championships] were closed to him, and he wanted to stop fighting."
Big Nog goes on to explain how he got to know Anderson over the course of their respective Pride careers:
"I’ve always been a fan of Anderson’s," he said. "Back when he was in Meca, I met his dad, and we talked. He always treated me very well. Nobody talked a lot in Japan, but I always had a good relationship with everyone. I always liked to talk with Anderson. He has always been very respectful because he’s a student of the martial arts."
After describing Anderson's eventual move to Brazilian Top Team, he comes back to the point where Anderson hit the crossroads:
"We arranged a fight for him in Bahia and asked if he was willing, and he accepted," Nogueira said. "He did the fight in Bahia and then got another in Korea. Then I arranged some fights in England through a contact of a friend of mine. That’s when it all came together."
Anderson actually did fight in Pride once more during this time, which was his famous flying scissor heel-hook loss to Ryo Chonan. But his eventual jump to the UFC after this stage in his career has obviously been very fruitful. And to think - how different would the MMA world look if Anderson had actually hung 'em up way back then?