Former PRIDE light heavyweight sensation Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is getting closer to joining his twin brother Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the ranks of the UFC as Fighter’s Only reports that "Minotoro" is being considered for a UFC 105 debut on November 14 in Manchester, England.
After dropping a close unanimous decision to Vladimir Matyushenko way back in 2002 in his sophomore effort for the now-defunct PRIDE FC promotion, Lil’ Nog went on an absolute tear, rattling off eight straight victories including a TKO win over current Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem and a submission victory (armbar) over UFC middleweight contender Dan Henderson.
His momentum however was quickly derailed courtesy of a flash KO just 23 seconds into his bout against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at PRIDE 33 — his last appearance for the struggling promotion. It was the first time in his career that Nogueria had been stopped, but he quickly got back to his winning ways after nearly a year on the sidelines.
In addition to pounding out Edwin "Babyface" DeWees at Affliction: "Banned" in July of 2008, Nogueira got his much sought-after revenge on Matyushenko by knocking out "The Janitor" in the second round of their rematch at Affliction: "Day of Reckoning" this past January.
Like his brother "Minotauro," the younger-by-seven-seconds Nogueira is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and talented boxer. Aside from his mixed martial arts exploits, Nog Jr. also competed as a pugilist, capturing a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games.
It will be interesting to see who the UFC puts in front of him for his November debut.
Can't wait to see him tear it up in the division, interesting though that his team mate is champion...
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