The “UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2” main card is now a bit more interesting with the addition of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Luiz Cane. This light heavyweight match up adds some much needed depth to the pay-per-view portion of UFC 106, which airs live from Las Vegas on Nov. 21. The UFC has officially announced the long-rumored fight between the two Brazilians.
Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira, or Little Nog as he is known by die-hard MMA fans, is the twin brother of former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira.
Recently signed by the UFC, Little Nog is a former PrideFC veteran who holds a professional MMA record of 17-3. Nogueira is currently riding a five fight win streak and has notable victories over Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Vladimir Matyushenko, Guy Mezger, and Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.
Luiz Cane is a dangerous striker with considerable knockout power. Cane is 10-1 in his professional MMA career with eight of his victories coming by knockout. His one and only loss came from a disqualification due to illegal knee blows to the head of a downed opponent, James Irvin. Cane is widely regarded as one of the top five light heavyweights in the UFC and is riding a three fight win streak, including a knockout over Sokoudjou.
Nogueira should prove to be the toughest test of Cane’s UFC career. Nogueira possesses top-notch jiu jitsu and a solid chin. However, Nogueira’s last loss came via 23 second knockout to Sokoudjou at Pride 33, so he is susceptible to the KO.
Look for Nogueira to try and get this one to the ground as soon as Cane lands one or two good strikes. If he can take Cane down, Nogueira possesses the ability to finish the fight from whatever position he ends up in.
This light heavyweight fight has contender implications written all over it. If Cane were to pull off a victory over Little Nog, especially a spectacular knockout, it would definitely put him in the title discussion. If Nogueira were to finish Cane, which by all accounts would be an upset, he would definitely catapult himself in the UFC light heavyweight division.
UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2 fight card:
Main Card:
- Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin
- Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson
- Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni
- Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
- Karo Parisyan vs. Dustin Hazelett
Prelims:
- Ben Saunders vs. Marcus Davis
- Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann
- Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt
- Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster
- George Sotiropoulos vs. Jason Dent