Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will return to action with a heavyweight bout against Stefan Struve at UFC 190.
The organisation’s news feed on Twitter provided confirmation:
Minotauro hasn’t won a fight since 2012, suffering losses to Fabricio Werdum and Roy Nelson in the last two years, before taking up a coaching spell on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4. However, as reported by Thomas Gerbasi of the UFC’s official website, Big Nog is preparing to entertain his countrymen with an appearance at Rio de Janiero’s HSBC Arena on August 1.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, or Little Nog, will also enter the Octagon on this card in a hotly anticipated rematch with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
He lost a unanimous decision against the muay thai fighter while participating in Pride a decade ago. The UFC 190 card is headlined by Ronda Rousey, who will put her women’s bantamweight title on the line against Bethe Correia.
Struve poses an interesting test for Big Nog, particularly considering both fighters’ records have taken a battering in recent times. Skyscraper has proven vulnerable against the best, suffering losses to Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem during his last two appearances. Many will also remember Big Country’s demolition act against the 7’0″ Dutchman.
Minotauro has won just once since having his arm snapped by Frank Mir at UFC 140. Both he and Struve will know a third consecutive defeat could be harmful to their future prospects. Big Nog is vastly experienced at 38, but few would expect him to pick himself up from many more losses, particularly if serious injury is involved.
As reported by John Morgan of the USA Today in 2013, the Brazilian has his sights set on pushing one last time for the heavyweight title.
“You guys always want to put me out of the game, but I’m hungry,” said Nogueira.
Struve is currently 15th in the UFC’s official heavyweight rankings, so there’s quite a journey to make before interim champion Werdum can be challenged again.
Nogueira will need the Brazilian crowd to create home advantage, as Struve poses a challenge that is difficult to replicate. His gangly frame and long limbs ensures he can put space between himself and opponents, but hard-hitting, accurate strikes have been able to close that gap quickly in recent times.
Struve‘s movement isn’t the greatest, and if Big Nog finds his range, he will be confident of securing the win. Hunt broke Struve‘s jaw, but the Dutchman proved he is willing to battle until the very last. This is potentially a dangerous fight for both men.
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