Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-3) and undefeated TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader (11-0) have verbally agreed to fight on Sept. 25 as part of the UFC 119 card at the Canseco Field House in Indianapolis, Ind.
MMAWeekly confirmed the bout on Thursday.
There had been talk previously that Nogueira could face former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (30-8) next, but UFC president Dana White has squashed those rumors citing Jackson is still finishing up “A-Team” movie commitments.
Nogueira vs. Bader is significant as the winner will be moving into the realm of title contention status. An impressive victory for either fighter could move them as close as one or two fights away from either a shot at the title, or a chance to compete for a light heavyweight interim title if the UFC decides to implement one due to the injury situation with current champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4).
Bader has four straight victories inside the Octagon, beginning with his TKO victory over Vinny Magalhaes (4-5) at “The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale” in 2008, and most recently, his knockout win over Keith Jardine (15-8-1) at UFC 110 back in February.
“Little Nog” has won both his fights so far in the UFC. He defeated the heavy-handed Luis Arthur Cane (10-3) via TKO at UFC 106 in Nov. 2009, and also defeated Jason Brilz (18-3-1) in a controversial split decision at UFC 114 in May.
Other fights expected to take place on the UFC 119 card in September include Jeremy Stephens (17-5) vs. Melvin Guillard (25-8-2) and Matt Mitrione (2-0) vs. Joey Beltran (12-3).