According to Brazilian site TATAME, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira looks like being that the man for the job.

“It’s set that he’ll be back in September, and rumors point that his opponent might be Quinton Jackson,” Rogerio’s trainer Luis Carlos Dorea tells the site.  “It’d be a great fight for Rogério, he’s a former UFC champion and a victory over him will move us pretty close to the title. The UFC only has top athletes and Quinton Jackson is really dangerous. It’d be a great fight, but the UFC didn’t confirmed anything yet.”

According to TATAME they have since been able to confirm that the fight has been agreed upon, though the contracts have not yet been signed.

If true then this would certainly be an interesting fight.  Rogerio would have a major advantage should the fight hit the floor, but the stand-up battle would be intriguing.  Jackson is a natural striker and should have the edge, but Lil Nog has put a lot of time into his boxing in recent years, and it has paid dividends as was seen with his TKO defeat over Luiz Cane in his UFC debut.

Both fighters were stars during their time in the PRIDE organization, but their paths never crossed.  Now it appears they could be set to meet in the octagon.  If Dorea is correct on the timeline for this bout then I suspect this could well be the main event of UFC 119 on the 25th of September.

Things started out well for Lil Nog as he caught Brilz with some solid knees to the breadbasket as he attempted to move in to take the fight to the floor. His luck changed though when he managed to catch one of Rogerio’s kicks and took him down. Brilz showed good control on the ground, but while many would have been trapped on their back for the rest of their round, Nogueira’s world class BJJ allowed him to sweep Brilz. As quickly as he escaped he found himself back on the mat again though and had to work the same move to get back to his feet before the round ended.

In the second round things got even better for Brilz, who had taken the fight on short notice after Forrest Griffin pulled out injured, as he again took Nogueira down and caught him in a tight guillotine choke. Lil Nog’s grappling again came to his aid, but shaking off the tenacious Brilz’s hold proved difficult and it took several sweeps and positional changes before he finally broke free.

The prolonged exchange on the ground had noticeably effected both fighters gas tank, but towards the end of the round they threw leather and Brilz landed a clean shot which appeared to wobble Nogueira who spent the remainder of the round in reverse gear.

Nogueira appeared to have regained his composure as the final round got underway. Again Brilz takes him down, but he’s running low on gas and Lil Nog has little difficulty sweeping him yet again. Brilz is running dangerously close to exhaustion now and each takedown attempt becomes less successful than the last one and allows Nogueira to utilize more of his BJJ as he looks for a D’Arce choke, and later is briefly successful in securing a crucifix. Brilz survives though and makes it to the end of the round, with Nogueira on top throwing some ground and pound.

It’s a better round for Rogerio, but it seems as if Brilz has done enough in the previous two to produce the second major upset of the night. The judges have other ideas though and Nogueira is awarded a split decision victory, a result that is met with disbelief from Brilz camp, some surprise from Nogueira’s, and a chorus of boos from those in the crowd.

Despite the controversial loss Brilz has much to be proud of with his performance, and certainly made the most of his moment in the spotlight.

As for Rogerio, he’s now 2-0 in the UFC, but it’s not the performance he would have wanted, and shows that he’s still got work to do if he wants to achieve his ambition of getting a rematch with current light-heavyweight champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.

Rogerio, brother of heavyweight fighter Rodrigo, made an explosive start to his UFC career by earning the ‘Knockout Of The Night’ award against Luiz Cane last year at UFC 106, and according to Silva we should be expecting to see more good things from his fellow Brazilian.

“I believe Minotouro is on his best phase ever,” Silva tells Brazilian site Tatame.

That’s high praise indeed considering that Lil Nog holds a career record of 18-3 and in 2005 defeated Alistair Overeem twice, Dan Henderson once and was also involved in one of the all-time great PRIDE fights against Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.

Silva is currently training with him on a regular basis though, and therefore he would know better than anyone how the 33 year-old is performing.

“I believe he will win because of what I saw on his trainings, he’s really strong and well prepared,” Silva said of Nogueira’s fight with Brilz.

As for his own career, Silva’s next challenge to his middleweight title comes from Chael Sonnen.  The champion says that he’s been working on his wrestling in preparation for the fight.

“I’m training with Mark Muñoz, he is helping a lot on that part. I’m only hoping to do a good fight against Sonnen, independently of the result.”

The fact that he is stressing the importance of having a good fight will certainly come as welcome news to fans who were disheartened by his lackluster performance against Demian Maia in his last Octagon outing.

Griffin is believed to have picked up a shoulder injury which leaves him unable to compete in the bout which had been lined up as the co-main event of the Las Vegas event.

Now the UFC faces an all-to-familiar scramble to find a late replacement for ‘Lil Nog’.

So who are the most likely options?

There has been some call for up and coming star Jon ‘Bones’ Jones to take Griffin’s place, but thought that certainly would be an interesting fight I believe the UFC will, if at all possible, stick to their guns and keep the 22 year old away from the top tier light-heavyweights for the time being.

A fight that makes sense to me is with Thiago Silva. Yesterday it was announced that Silva was set to face the returning Tim Boetsch, but that strikes me as a slightly curious bout that could be scrapped if neccessary.

Silva has admittedly hit a rocky patch lately, going 1-2 in the UFC after having been unbeaten in his previous 13 fights, but he remains a challenge for anyone in the division and I’d like to see how he matches up with Nogueira.

A third option would be TUF season 8 champion Ryan Bader who’s recent form suggests he’s ready for a step up in competition.

Update:

Before you get your hopes up for a good match-up for Nogueira with the likes of Jones, Silva or Bader, news has reached us that the UFC have in fact decided to pair him up with Jason Brilz instead.

It’s a golden opportunity for Brilz to take a major step up in competition after producing a solid 3-1 record in the UFC to date, but overall it’s not an ideal replacement for the original co-main event feature and unfortunately weakens the UFC 114 show.

We reported rumors that this bout was in the works last week, and it appears to have now been given the go-ahead with both fighters believed to have verbally agreed to the bout.

In a recent interview Griffin appeared less than enthused at the prospect of fighting ‘Lil Nog’ due to the Brazilian’s well rounded skills, and the fact that he had previously trained with his older brother Rodrigo.

Rogerio on the other hand appeared far more keen on the idea, commenting recently, “it would be a really good fight.”

Griffin is right to be wary of this encounter as on paper Nogueira is at least equal to, and in many cases better skills than him in most areas.  Griffin has overcome the odds before though, notably against another Brazilian – Mauricio Shogun Rua, and Rampage Jackson in recent years.

UFC 113 on May 8th is of course already set to feature the light-heavyweight title rematch between Lyoto Machida and the aforementioned Shogun’ Rua, which may suggest that the winner of Griffin – Nogueira could be getting lined up to face either the winner, or perhaps the loser of that bout.

Whatever the case with a bout between Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans apparently set to headline UFC 114  there’s certainly interesting times aheadfor the UFC’s light-heavyweight division.

The news comes from Fighters Only Magazine who say that a source close to one of the fighters believes the bout will take place “sooner rather than later.”

‘Lil Nog’ had originally been set to face Brandon Vera, with Fighters Only reporting that Griffin would have been his next opponent had he been successful, but an ankle injury ruled Rogerio out of the March  event which will air live on Versus  (Jon Bones Jones is now his replacement for that card).

The latest news seems promising, particularly for the 44% of you who voted for Griffin as the fighter you’d most like to see Nogueira face next on this site after his successful octagon debut in which he TKO’d the highly regarded Luiz Cane.

Having said that, it’s still unclear if Nogueira will face Griffin next, or will still have to fight someone else (potentially the winner of Vera Vs Jones) first.

There have been further rumors lately that a fight between Griffin and Rich Franklin could also be under consideration, and in fairness that also would be a solid match-up, and another bout that we have previously called for on this site.

Personally I would like to see the Lil Nog – Griffin match made now, as it would be an entertaining bout, and would give either fighter the opportunity to establish themselves as one of the divisions top contenders should they emerge victorious.

Despite the disappointment over the cancellation of another key bout for the UFC in the early part of next year, this may actually work out for the best on this occasion.

Rumor has it that Vera will now face the light heavyweight divisions most exciting up and coming prospect, Jon Bones Jones instead.  The word came directly from Vera’s twitter account, though he appears to have since deleted the message.

“Just found out I’m firing Jon Bones Jones on March 21st in Denver Colorado. hope u heard it here first!!!! “

March 21st in Denver is currently scheduled to be the location of the Ultimate Fight Night 21 card which this fight would no doubt headline.

This sounds like a good plan to me.  Jones is ready for a step up in competition, and Brandon Vera, who is coming off a controversial loss to Randy Couture, is the perfect bridge between mid-level opposition at light heavyweight, and the top contenders in the division.

It also frees up ‘Lil Nog’ to perhaps fight one of the top contenders in the division as we had originally predicted.  I still like the sound of Nogueira Vs Forrest Griffin – and from the results of a recent poll on this site, our readers think the same.

At this stage however it is unclear when Rogerio will be back to full fitness.

Today the UFC announced that Nogueira will face Brandon Vera at UFC 109.

Vera fought Randy Couture at UFC 105 last month in his first ever appearance in a main event, and after taking the hall of famer to a decision many people believe that he should have emerged victorious.

In a recent poll on this site we asked you who you’d like to see Rogerio Nogueira face next.  Though Brandon Vera was an option on the poll, it wasn’t the most popular choice, gaining only 10% of the vote.   The most popular choice on the poll was a match-up with Forrest Griffin which appealed to 44% of voters.   Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua also polled above Vera.

Personally  I would have liked to see Nogueira facing a fighter coming off a win, so at to further boost his chances of stepping in line for a title shot in 2010.

It seems that Nogueira himself had similar feelings as Fighters Only spoke to his manager who revealed that the fighter had turned down the fight due to Vera losing to Couture, and also because he trained at the same academy.  For whatever reason it appears that he has since had a change of heart.

That aside, Vera is a worthy opponent and this is definitely an intriguing fight.  Nogueira showed his boxing skills in his victory over another talented striker in Luiz Cane, but Brandon Vera’s longer range kicks and all-round muay thai skills will present a new challenge for the Brazilian.

As with Nogueira’s previous fight, this one may well steal the show at UFC 109.

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Read our recent in-depth profile of Antonio Nogueira here

It would appear that there was little doubt for the majority of you, as former LHW champ Forrest Griffin came top of the poll with 44% of the vote. I would tend to agree that this would be an excellent bout for Nogueira at this stage. As I mentioned in the article, Nogueira’s skill-set is similar, but I believe superior to Griffin’s, and a win over a well known fighter like this would be a major boost to his chances of securing a title shot in 2010.

Of the other available options a rematch with Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua was also on the agenda for 20% of you. In some ways I’m surprised that more people didn’t vote for this option considering the previous bout was a genuine MMA classic, but perhaps the thinking was that he should have another fight first while Rua deals with his upcoming rematch against Lyoto Machida in May.

Just behind Rua in the poll was current TUF 10 coach Rashad Evans with 19% of the vote. Evans is of course another former champion who would provide a stern challenge to Nogueira, though he has to get past Thiago Silva (who received just 5% of the vote) at UFC 108 first.

Coming off a controversial loss against Randy Couture, Brandon Vera still did enough to make 10% of you choose him as Nogueira’s next opponent. I’d be interested to see how the stand-up battle between these two would pan out, but right now I think Little Nog needs to fight a higher ranked fighter to fully establish himself as a top contender in the division.

Lyoto Machida recently stated that he didn’t want to fight Noguiera who is also part of the Black House stable which is probably just as well since only 2% of you wanted to see that one next. I think it would be a great match, but the rematch with Shogun Rua -whether he wins the title or not – would be more appealing.

Full Poll Results:

Forrest Griffin: 44%
Shogun Rua: 20%
Rashad Evans: 19%
Brandon Vera: 10%
Thiago Silva: 5%
Lyoto Machida: 2%

After fighting mainly in Japan (including 10 fights in PRIDE) for the majority of his career, Rogerio has finally joined the sports biggest promotion at a relatively late stage in his career.  Now 33 years old, he carries a professional record of 18-3 and has fought some of the sports best known stars including Dan Henderson, Alistair Overeem (twice), and Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua.

He is currently associated with the Black House stable where he has the luxury of formidable training partners like Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and of course his brother Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.  Part of what makes Rogerio such a challenging opponent is that he is dangerous both on his feet and on the ground. To date he claims five knockouts and six submissions among his eighteen victories. Let’s take a look at his key skills more closely.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Rogerio Armbars Nakamura In PRIDE

Like his twin brother, former Pride champion and UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Rogerio is a submission specialist holding a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In the early part of his career BJJ would play an important part in establishing his reputation. In particular the armbar has often been his weapon of choice, utilizing it to gain victories in his first two professional bouts, and later defeating both Kazuhiro Nakamura and Dan Henderson by the same method in PRIDE.

The Dan Henderson fight in particular gives a good showcase of the Brazilian’s well rounded skills. Rogerio is comfortable striking with the heavy-handed American throughout the fight, but what’s more impressive is how he deals with Henderson when the fight goes to the mat.

On your back is often the last place you want to be against a dominant wrestler like Dan Henderson but Nogueira uses his BJJ to good effect, both to nullify the majority of his ground & pound attack, and to remain an offensive threat himself. Later he shows equally slick technique from top position as he initially goes for the kimura and then transitions into the armbar to earn the victory.

It’s a fight that gives a good insight into how Nogueira could fit in at the very top of the LHW division.  Watch the full bout below…

Boxing

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is not the only string to Rogerio’s bow however. He also has experience as an amateur boxer and has won several championships since 2006 in his native Brazil and across South America.

Despite this there are some who would question whether he is a real power puncher, with several of his fights going the distance, particularly early in his career.  It is however interesting to note that his success in the boxing ring in recent times appears to have coincided with an increase in the number of knockout victories on his MMA record.

Nogueira TKO's Edwin Dewees

In the first 13 fights of his pro career Rogerio failed to finish a fight inside the distance with strikes. Since 2006 things have changed, and five of his last seven victories have come via TKO or KO. They include a technical knockout of current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem in Pride, a demolition of former UFC fighter Edwin Dewees in Affliction, and of course his most recent KO of light heavyweight prospect Luiz Arthur Cane.

Rogerio K.O's Cane At UFC 106

His latest victory was all the more impressive considering the fact that it was his debut for the UFC and Cane had never been stopped before (his only loss having come by way of a DQ).

After the fight Dana White is  reported to have congratulated Nogueira and told him, “Do you have the idea who you just defeated?  The man we were about to match as the next contender for the belt.”

Losses

Sometimes you can tell more about a fighter in defeat than in victory.  Rogerio’s first loss came in his fourth pro fight back in 2002 when he fought UFC veteran Vladimir Matyushenko.   On that occasion he would lose via unanimous decision, but nearly seven years later he would gain his revenge by knocking out ‘The Janitor’ with a knee strike at Affliction: Day Of Reckoning.

The second of his three losses came against the man many people believe should be the current light heavyweight champion – Mauricio Shogun Rua.  Fighting his fellow Brazilian in PRIDE just two months after beating Dan Henderson, it turned out to be a classic bout that is believed to be one of the best fights in the history of the  organization.

Sit back and watch the fight for yourself below…

Sokoudjou knocks Out Nogueira

The third and most decisive loss in Nogueira’s career to date came two fights later against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. After only 23 seconds of the first round at PRIDE 33 he lay knocked out after paying the price for dropping his hands getting caught with a less than technical, but undeniably effective left hook from ‘The African Assassin’.

To his credit Nogueira didn’t get discouraged by the K.O and has since went six fights undefeated in promotions like Affliction, Sengoko and of course most recently the UFC.

The Future

After his most recent win the future looks bright for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Already ranked as a top ten light heavyweight, another one or two impressive performances could well establish him as the top contender in the division.

Nogueira Vs Shogun Rua 2?

Just how long it will take may depend on circumstances outside of his control. For instance an obvious fight to make is a rematch with Shogun Rua. If Rua were to win the title in his rematch against Lyoto Machida then that’s a fight the UFC may look to put on sooner rather than later.

On the other hand if Rua were to lose then the rematch would still be a no-brainer, putting another obstacle in Rogerio’s way before earning a title shot.

With Machida Vs Shogun 2 not taking place until May 1st, Nogueira is however certain to fight again in the mean time.

Of the available options a bout with Forrest Griffin stands out. It would afford him the chance to take on an established star, and one who he matches up with favorably.  Another scenario would be to have him fight the winner of Rashad Evans Vs Thiago Silva which takes place at UFC 108 in January. A win over either would lend further credibility to his push to become the No.1 contender in the division.

Whatever happens it is apparent that the UFC has significantly enhanced the options at the top end of the LHW division with the addition of Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotoro’ Nogueira.  With his well rounded, technical skills, years of experience and possessing the famed Nogueira toughness, he is as dangerous as any of the top contenders in the division at this moment in time.

Article by RossC

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If you enjoyed this article then you might like some of our other in-depth fighter features such as:

Taking A Closer At TUF 10 Competitor Marcus Jones

Taking A Closer Look At New Strikeforce Signing Marius Zaromskis

Lyoto Machida: Analyzing The Dragon

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