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Dana White revealed what is in the works for July 25’s co-main event at Fight Island.
UFC president Dana White plans to have a trilogy bout between light heavyweight veterans Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Mauricio Rua at the mysterious Fight Island.
During an episode of Steve-O’s ‘Wild Ride!’ podcast, White revealed that the fight originally scheduled for May 9 is now in the works for a card on July 25. However, Dana also stated he does not know if the bout is a done deal yet. Should it become confirmed, the match will be the co-main event to headliners Robert Whittaker and Darren Till.
In their first encounter, Mauricio Rua (26-11-1) bested ‘Lil Nog’ via unanimous decision, first at PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005, in June of that year and then again at UFC 190 in August 2015. In his last outing back in November, ‘Shogun’ fought Paul Craig to a split draw. Before that, the 38-year-old scored a TKO win over Tyson Pedro, back in December 2018.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (23-9) will look to recover from a knockout loss to prospect Ryan Spann, back in May 2019. The loss came right after a TKO victory against Sam Alvey, in September 2018.
Now, Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira are expected to square off on July 25, at the UFC’s Fight Island, which is still an unknown location as of writing of this piece. The card is targeted to be headlined by a middleweight bout between former champion Robert Whittaker and Darren Till.