Post by James Hetfield on Jul 8, 2010 13:22:04 GMT -5
Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira II headlines UFC 119 in Indianapolis
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jul 08, 2010 at 2:10 pm ET
A rematch between heavyweights Frank Mir (13-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) headlines September's UFC 119 event.
UFC president Dana White today confirmed the fight with MMAFighting.com, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has confirmed the booking with a source close to one of the fighters.
An official announcement of the fight and event is expected as soon as this week.
UFC 119 takes place Sept. 25 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Nogueira vs. Mir II, of course, wasn't the first choice for the UFC 119 headliner. As MMAjunkie.com first reported, UFC officials planned to have UFC 116's main-event winner (champ Brock Lesnar and interim champ Shane Carwin) fight top contender Cain Velasquez at UFC 119. However, Lesnar, who earned a second-round submission win, and his wife are expecting the birth of a child in the next few weeks. Additionally, the booking would have required an abbreviated fight camp for the now-undisputed champ, who returned from a yearlong layoff (diverticulitis) for the fight.
Mir, of course, won the first meeting with Nogueira with an impressive second-round knockout at UFC 92 in December 2008. Only after the fight did we learn that Nogueira was slowed by staph-infection recovery and a knee injury. Still, Nogueira praised his opponent's performance and said he was surprised by Mir's noticeably improved striking skills.
Mir is just 1-2 since that big win, which marked Nogueira's first stoppage loss, with knockout losses to Lesnar and Carwin and a submission win over Cheick Kongo. The Carwin loss, which came at UFC 111 in March with an interim title on the line, marks his most recent outing.
Nogueira, meanwhile, also is coming off a loss. In February, he was stunned by a first-round knockout at the hands of Velasquez. The former PRIDE star set up the No. 1 contender's bout after earning a decision victory over Randy Couture this past August.
I can honestly say I am actually surprised. Looks like the card will be something like this:
Heavyweight bout: Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Light Heavyweight bout: Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Lightweight bout: Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk
Lightweight bout: Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens
Middleweight bout: C.B. Dollaway vs. Joe Doerksen
Heavyweight bout: Joey Beltran vs. Matt Mitrione
Welterweight bout: T.J. Grant vs. Julio Paulino
Heavyweight bout: Mark Hunt vs. Sean McCorkle
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jul 08, 2010 at 2:10 pm ET
A rematch between heavyweights Frank Mir (13-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) headlines September's UFC 119 event.
UFC president Dana White today confirmed the fight with MMAFighting.com, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has confirmed the booking with a source close to one of the fighters.
An official announcement of the fight and event is expected as soon as this week.
UFC 119 takes place Sept. 25 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Nogueira vs. Mir II, of course, wasn't the first choice for the UFC 119 headliner. As MMAjunkie.com first reported, UFC officials planned to have UFC 116's main-event winner (champ Brock Lesnar and interim champ Shane Carwin) fight top contender Cain Velasquez at UFC 119. However, Lesnar, who earned a second-round submission win, and his wife are expecting the birth of a child in the next few weeks. Additionally, the booking would have required an abbreviated fight camp for the now-undisputed champ, who returned from a yearlong layoff (diverticulitis) for the fight.
Mir, of course, won the first meeting with Nogueira with an impressive second-round knockout at UFC 92 in December 2008. Only after the fight did we learn that Nogueira was slowed by staph-infection recovery and a knee injury. Still, Nogueira praised his opponent's performance and said he was surprised by Mir's noticeably improved striking skills.
Mir is just 1-2 since that big win, which marked Nogueira's first stoppage loss, with knockout losses to Lesnar and Carwin and a submission win over Cheick Kongo. The Carwin loss, which came at UFC 111 in March with an interim title on the line, marks his most recent outing.
Nogueira, meanwhile, also is coming off a loss. In February, he was stunned by a first-round knockout at the hands of Velasquez. The former PRIDE star set up the No. 1 contender's bout after earning a decision victory over Randy Couture this past August.
I can honestly say I am actually surprised. Looks like the card will be something like this:
Heavyweight bout: Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Light Heavyweight bout: Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Lightweight bout: Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk
Lightweight bout: Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens
Middleweight bout: C.B. Dollaway vs. Joe Doerksen
Heavyweight bout: Joey Beltran vs. Matt Mitrione
Welterweight bout: T.J. Grant vs. Julio Paulino
Heavyweight bout: Mark Hunt vs. Sean McCorkle
ING AWSOME! Now is it the Mark Hunt i'm thinking of?
