‘Minotouro’ Nogueira Expects Trilogy with ‘Shogun’ Rua at UFC 250 to Be Farewell Bout

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira plans on calling it a career following his trilogy bout against Mauricio Rua at UFC 250.

“This fight will probably be the last fight of my career, my farewell fight,” Nogueira told MMAFighting.com. “So being able to have this rematch with ‘Shogun’ is both challenging and motivating. I thank ‘Shogun’ for giving me this opportunity. I’m sure we’ll put on a great fight again.”

“Minotouro” is slated to face Rua for a third time on May 9 in Sao Paulo Brazil. The 43-year-old Brazilian was supposed to face Trevor Smith this past November but was forced to withdraw from that contest due to a back injury.

Nogueira and Rua initially had a memorable battle under the Pride Fighting Championships banner in 2005, with “Shogun” winning via unanimous decision. Rua again outpointed Nogueira in their rematch at UFC 190 in August 2015. “Minotouro” felt that he deserved the nod the second time around.

“I was looking for a fight that made sense for me, and this fight with ‘Shogun’ makes lot of sense for me because we started it in 2005 with one of the most memorable fights in MMA history, one of the best in PRIDE history,” he said. “That fight in 2005 was very, very close. I believe I had the advantage, but they gave it to him. But the fight we did in 2015, I’m fully aware that I won the first two rounds. He took me down in the third round, but that fight was mine.

“I contested that decision a lot and Dana White even promised me a rematch. Five years later, I have the opportunity to fight him again. It’s the fight that makes sense for me to come back.”

Nogueira fought has fought just four times since that second loss to Rua. He last appeared at UFC 237, where he was knocked out in the opening stanza by Ryan Spann in May 2019.