A light heavyweight battle between legends Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has been added to the UFC Fight Night card on July 25.
Rua and Nogueira had been previously booked for the old UFC 250 card that was set to take place in Brazil, this before it was eventually scrapped. The UFC was able to keep the matchup intact and now the two have been re-booked for a Fight Night event on July 25 that is expected to take place at Fight Island. A middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Darren Till headlines that card.
UFC president Dana White broke the news on a recent podcast with Steve-O.
Rua (26-11-1) is one of the greatest light heavyweights of all time and a sure-fire Hall of Famer when it’s all said and done. The former UFC champion and PRIDE superstar has been having a nice run late in his career, as he’s gone 4-1-1 over his last six bouts. In his last outing, he had a draw with Paul Craig in a back-and-forth fight. Before that, he defeated Tyson Pedro by knockout. He also has a recent win over Corey Anderson.
Nogueira (23-9) is coming off of a knockout loss to Ryan Spann in his last fight. At age 43, Nogueira is one of the oldest fighters on the UFC roster. However, it wasn’t that long ago that he picked up a knockout win over Sam Alvey, so he still has something left in the tank. Nogueira may not be the fighter he once was, but he’s still capable of putting on a good fight.
Rua and Nogueira have previously met twice in the UFC and PRIDE, with Rua winning both fights. Rua will now look to sweep the trilogy this summer on Fight Island.
Who do you think wins this battle of legends, Mauricio Rua or Antonio Rogerio Nogueira?