Report: ‘Minotoro’ Nogueira Out of UFC 161 Bout With Rua; UFC Seeks Replacement

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A herniated disk has forced Antonio Rogerio Nogueira out of his co-main event bout with Mauricio Rua at UFC 161.

The Brazilian website Globo.com first broke the news, and several outlets have since confirmed Nogueira’s withdrawal from the June 15 event. UFC officials are reportedly searching for a replacement opponent for Rua.

UFC 161 takes place at the MTS Center in Winnipeg, Canada on June 15 and is headlined by a light heavyweight confrontation between Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson. Nogueira’s ailment is the second significant injury to affect the card -- Renan Barao withdraw from an interim bantanweight title defense against Eddie Wineland last month. As a result of Barao’s injury, the promotion added a heavyweight bout between Roy Nelson and Stipe Miocic to the main bill.

Rua and Nogueira first crossed paths in the Pride Fighting Championships on June 26, 2005, with “Shogun” earning a unanimous decision triumph. Rua competed twice in 2012, earning a fourth-round TKO over Brandon Vera at UFC on Fox 4 before dropping a unanimous decision against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on Fox 5.

“Minotoro” returned to the Octagon for the first time in more than a year at UFC 156, where he scored a surprising three-round verdict over Evans in a largely uneventful affair. Nogueira also owns wins over Tito Ortiz, Jason Briz and Luiz Cane during his UFC tenure.