A knee injury to UFC light heavyweight Antônio Rogério Nogueira has forced the Brazilian to withdraw from his upcoming UFC on FUEL TV 2 bout versus ‘The Mauler’ Alexander Gustafsson (13-1).
Replacing ‘Little Nog’ at next months show will be returning fighter Thiago Silva (14-2, 1NC).
The news of the change was made official by the promotion at UFC.com earlier today.
Following a knee injury suffered in training for his April 14th bout against Alexander Gustafsson, Rogerio Nogueira has been forced to withdraw from the UFC on FUEL TV main event in Stockholm, Sweden. Stepping in for Lil’ Nog will be another hard-hitting Brazilian, Thiago Silva, who is returning to the Octagon for the first time since January of 2011.
UFC on FUEL TV 2 marks the promotions first visit to Stockholm, Sweden and is set to take place at the Ericsson Globe Arena on April 14, 2012. The main card will air live on FUEL TV, while the prelim card is expected to air on FX and via live stream on Facebook.
Silva makes his return to the Octagon after serving a year suspensions from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for falsifying his urine sample following a win over Brandon Vera at UFC 125. The result of that match was changed to a “No Contest” and Silva was also fined 25% of his winnings. The Brazilian is 1-2 (1NC) in his last four Octagon appearances.
Gustafsson has won four straight, coming off a first round TKO stoppage over Vladimir Matyushenko last December at UFC 141. ‘The Mauler’ fights in front of his fellow countrymen at the Stockholm show, fighting at home for the first time since 2009. Gustafsson has gone 5-1 in the UFC with wins over Matyushenko, Matt Hamill, James Te-Huna, Cyrille Diabate and Jared Hamman. His only loss was to Phil Davis at UFC 112.