Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and
Cain Velasquez have agreed to meet in a heavyweight bout at
UFC 110 on Feb. 21 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, Sherdog.com has confirmed with multiple sources close to the bout.
Nogueira’s boxing coach, Luiz Dorea, said this week that the bout could be contested for an interim heavyweight title while champion
Brock Lesnar recovers from an intestinal tract infection and recent surgery.
“We regret Brock Lesnar's situation, but Rodrigo is waiting to know if he will fight for the interim belt,” Dorea said. “He is expected to fight for the interim belt against Cain Velasquez at UFC 110 in Australia, but that’s not officially confirmed yet.”
Sherdog.com confirmed Thursday, however, that the matchup will
not be for an interim title.
Nogueira and Velasquez were originally slated to anchor UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas, but the Brazilian withdrew from the heavyweight headliner in early November due to a staph infection. Nogueira recently told Sherdog.com that his recovery progressed well and that he’d be able to fight by late February.
Nogueira’s resume is one of the most impressive in the sport. A former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder, the 33-year-year old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has won three of his four bouts since entering the Octagon in July 2007. After losing the UFC interim title to
Frank Mir at UFC 92 in December 2008, Nogueira bounced back big with a unanimous decision victory over UFC hall of famer
Randy Couture at UFC 102 in August.
The undefeated Velasquez, 27, battered International Fight League veteran
Ben Rothwell in the UFC 104 co-main event for a second-round TKO victory in October. Based out of the American Kickboxing Academy, Velasquez, a two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State University, has finished six of his seven opponents.
This article was updated at 9:09 p.m. EST with information that the Nogueira-Velasquez matchup will not be for an interim title.
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