When Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum meet in the main event of UFC on Fuel 10, it will be the second time these two veteran fighters have faced each other in mixed martial arts combat. The first meeting between the two took place in 2006 under the Pride banner.
That bout was in the quarterfinal round of the 2006 Pride Openweight Grand Prix. Werdum defeated Alistair Overeem in the opening round via second-round submission while Nogueira advanced with a first-round submission victory over Wagner Martins.
Werdum carried a record of 8-1-1 heading into their bout. Nogueira, who had been fighting professionally since 1999, was 27-3-1-1.
The three-round contest was (obviously) fought under Pride rules, which extended the first round to 10 minutes while the second and third rounds were five minutes in length. Another important difference between Pride rules and the Unified Rules was the scoring. The entire fight was judged in Pride, much different than the round-by-round basis we see under the Unified Rules.
Nogueira would take the victory over Werdum, but would lose in the next round of the tournament, dropping a split decision to Josh Barnett.
Nogueira has fought ten times since their first meeting, going 6-4. During that span, he briefly held the UFC interim heavyweight title, winning the belt in a bout with Tim Sylvia and losing it to Frank Mir in his next contest. Nogueira last fought in October 2012, submitting Dave Herman with an armbar and earning “Submission of the Night” honors.
Werdum has fought 11 times since his first meeting with Nogueira, going 8-3. Werdum is currently on a two-fight winning streak, defeating Roy Nelson and Mike Russow in those victories.
UFC on Fuel 10 will take place on June 8 from the Ginasio Paulo Sarasate in Fortaleza, Brazil.
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