‘Minotauro’ Nogueira vs. Stefan Struve Slated for UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro

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Famed Brazilian heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will return to the Octagon this summer to face 7-foot Dutch “Skyscraper” Stefan Struve at UFC 190.

Nogueira announced the matchup Tuesday during an appearance on Brazilian program “Revista Combate.”

UFC 190 “Rousey vs. Correia” takes place August 1 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, with a card topped by a women’s bantamweight title bout between Ronda Rousey and Bethe Correia. Also slated for the pay-per-view is a light heavyweight bout pitting Nogueira’s brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Nogueira, 38, will have been away from the cage for nearly 16 months by the time he faces Struve; last June, “Minotauro” underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL. The former Pride champion has dropped three of his last four bouts stretching back to 2011, though he stated in December that he hopes to fight twice more inside the Octagon before hanging up his gloves. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, 21 of Nogueira’s 34 career victories have come by way of submission.

Struve, 27, will also look to rebound from back-to-back losses, having been knocked out by Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt in the past two years. Prior to those setbacks, Struve had recorded four straight finishes, including a second-round knockout of Stipe Miocic in September 2013.