Former UFC heavyweight champion Antônio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira (32-6-1, 1NC) has confirmed his participation on the upcoming UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami card in Brazil.
“Minotauro” confirmed the news with Brazilian TV show “Globo Esporte” this weekend, with ESPN.com giving the update in English. Nogueira said that he is looking to take the ‘co-main’ event position for the August event but did not provide any details on an opponent.
“The biggest MMA promotion in the world will be back in Brazil after 14 years and I’ll be there, steady and strong. Anderson Silva will fight in the main event [against Yushin Okami] and I’m looking forward to fighting in the co-main event.”
UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami is expected to take place on Aug. 27 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro and represents the promotions first visit to Brazil since 1998. Headlining the event is a UFC middleweight title bout between Anderson Silva and challenger Yushin Okami.
Despite Nogueira not confirming an opponent, heavyweight Brendan Schaub (8-1) has stated after his most recent win at UFC 128, that he’d like to fight another “Legend” of the sport
“I’d love to fight in Brazil… There’re a Brazilian heavyweight who can be matched, who’s (Rodrigo) Nogueira, so maybe… That’d be a tough one. He’s talented, he’s good on the ground, he’s a veteran, so it’s the same story, another monster, another legend. Three legends.”
Schaub also posted the ESPN article via his Twitter account (@BrendanSchaub) on Sunday morning, possibly hinting at his participation on the UFC 134 card against “Minotauro” in Brazil.
Nogueira hasn’t fought since February 2010 where he was knocked out by current champ Cain Velasquez at UFC 110. “Minotauro”, or “Big Nog”, had been scheduled to meet Frank Mir at UFC 119 in September put pulled out to have knee surgery. Since then he’s also undergone surgery to repair both of his hips and looks to return on Aug. 27. His last win was over Randy Couture at UFC 102, a unanimous decision that earned both fighters the “Fight of the Night” bonus.
Schaub has won four straight since losing to fellow “TUF 10″ teammate Roy Nelson at the “TUF 10 Finale” in December of 2009. The former NFL player earned a third round knockout win last March at UFC 128 over Mirko Filipovi?. The win earned Schaub the “Knockout of the Night” bonus, the first UFC bonus of his career.