An ailing Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (21-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has been forced to withdraw from this month’s UFC 161 event, and UFC officials are currently seeking a replacement opponent for Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (21-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC). The scratch was first reported by GloboEsporte.com , and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has since confirmed the change with multiple sources close to the promotion. GloboEsporte.com’s report cited a herniated disc as the reason for the withdrawal. A timetable for his return was not immediately established. Rua and Nogueira had been looking to renew a rivalry that began in 2005 when the two faced off in the quarterfinal round of PRIDE’s middleweight grand prix. In a fight that many news media outlets dubbed fight of the year, Rua earned a hard-fought unanimous decision victory. Rua went on to win the star-studded and historic 16-man tournament a few months later. The two fighters have seen mixed results in recent years
BAD MMA Trending Cloud
UFC • Bellator • Conor Mcgregor • PFL • Jon Jones • Daniel Cormier • Dustin Poirier • Khabib Nurmagomedov • Dana White • Francis Ngannou • Jorge Masvidal • Nate Diaz • WSOF • Anderson Silva • Max Holloway • Ronda Rousey • Amanda Nunes • Michael Bisping • Donald Cerrone • Michael Chandler • Tony Ferguson • Kamaru Usman • Alex Pereira • islam makhachev • Alexander Volkanovski • Jake Paul • Henry Cejudo • Demetrious Johnson • Charles Oliveira • Jose Aldo • One Championship • Aljamain Sterling • sean o'malley • Derrick Lewis • Stipe Miocic • sean strickland • Tyron Woodley • Georges St Pierre • Robert Whittaker • Holly Holm
- MMA News (113275)
- UFC Fight Night 252 predictions: Is Cejudo or Song the better man in Seattle?
- UFC Fight Night 252 live updates: Results, round-by-round coverage of every fight
- UFC Seattle: Cejudo vs. Song Face-Offs
- Jason Jackson details the PFL/Bellator ‘worst circumstance I’ve ever been under’ that led to title loss
- Alexander Volkanovski’s coach: Ilia Topuria following Conor McGregor’s path with lightweight move
- UFC Seattle Ceremonial Weigh-In Video
- UFC Fight Night 252 video: Henry Cejudo brings giant fortune cookie to Song Yadong faceoff
- Video: UFC Fight Night 252 final faceoffs with Allen vs. Hernandez rematch, more
- Israel Adesanya not expecting to be UFC champion again, but insists he’s not ‘washed’
- Photos: UFC Fight Night 252 ceremonial weigh-ins and faceoffs