The UFC 161 fight card was
bitten by the injury bug once again on Sunday, as Globo.com reported that
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira had been injured and would be forced out of his
scheduled bout with fellow Brazilian Mauricio Rua. Less than two weeks ago, a
bantamweight title fight was removed from the event due to a Renan Barao
injury.
Not long after Globo broke the
news on the Nogueira injury, MMAJunkie.com reporter John Morgan confirmed the
unfortunate developments with UFC officials.
With fellow light heavyweights
Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans headlining UFC 161 now, “Shogun” is not left
with many potential top-10 opponents. However, the UFC could make a few moves
that would allow Rua to remain on the fight card and in an intriguing matchup.
Perhaps the most interesting
replacement opponent for Rua would be Glover Teixeira. Undefeated in four UFC
bouts, Teixeira has risen to become a serious contender in the light
heavyweight division, but he’s still looking for that signature win over a
relevant top-10 fighter which would cement him as one of the biggest title
threats in the division.
One issue with that matchup,
though, is that Rua has already turned it down in a similar situation. After
Thiago Silva was forced out of UFC 149 bout with him, Rua said no to a fight
with Teixeira and ended up meeting Brandon Vera at UFC on Fox 4.
“He would rather be cut than
fight him,” UFC president Dana White said of Rua’s response to a potential
fight with Teixeira.
Even if Rua has changed his
tune regarding the matchup, Teixeira just fought James Te-Huna on May 25. Any
nagging problems from that fight would put a hole in any plans to book a fight
between Rua and Teixeira.
If a bout between “Shogun” and
Teixeira doesn’t come to fruition, Wanderlei Silva would be a fantasy matchup
for Rua. Unfortunately, the chances of Rua accepting that fight would be even
more slim, as he and Silva became friends after training together at Chute Box
Academy for years.
Should the UFC find a way to
convince Rua and Silva to put friendship aside for one night, it could produce
a Fight of the Year or Knockout of the Year candidate. “Shogun” and “The Axe
Murderer” are both brutally aggressive strikers even as age appears to be
catching up with them.
While Rua fights with Teixeira
or Silva would be big draws for a suffering UFC 161 pay-per-view, a less
exciting matchup could result from Nogueira’s injury.
Bleacher Report’s own Scott
Harris made one of the more logical suggestions in the aftermath of the
Nogueira injury news. (Source)
