Ask and ye shall receive: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be back, and he’s accessible for the claiming of Cain Velasquez.“In February I’ll be ready to fight when they ask me to fight. In February I think I’ll be in shape. I’d love to fight in Australia. If they put me on the card, I would love to fight there,” Nogueira told MMAWeekly.com, addressing his return from a fourth staph infection in the past year.
The above PRIDE ample and UFC acting ample best was initially slated to face the best Velasquez on Jan. 2 at UFC 108, but the infection batty those plans.
Despite several letters that UFC 109 on Feb. 6 was beneath consideration, MMAWeekly.com has accepted an MMAJunkie.com address that UFC 109 is not likely. Sources abutting to the bender abreast MMAWeekly.com that UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia, is accepted to host the bout.
It looks like Nogueira gets his wish.
The addition of Nogueira vs. Velasquez would give the UFC a strong twin bill headlining its down under debut. Wanderlei Silva on Wednesday confirmed plans to “kick the Michael Bisping ass” in Sydney.
After losing the interim UFC heavyweight title to Frank Mir at UFC 92, Nogueira (32-5-1) returned with an impressive victory over UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture at UFC 102 in August. The win immediately put his name back in the hat of contenders to the belt currently held by Brock Lesnar.
Velasquez (7-0) is coming off a dominating TKO stoppage of Ben Rothwell at UFC 104. Three years into the sport, Velasquez has made a quick rise to the top of the heavyweight division with five of his victories taking place in the Octagon and only one having gone to a decision.
Despite the re-scheduling of the bout, coupled with the shelving of UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and number one contender Shane Carwin, Velasquez has taken the uncertainty of his next bout in stride.
“I just think it’s part of the sport when people get hurt,” he told MMAWeekly.com at UFC 106. “It just so happens that a lot of people got hurt in this weight class.”
Lesnar’s condition is such that it is unclear when he will be able to return to action, though his camp insists he will return. That has led the UFC to consider crowning an interim UFC heavyweight champion, but it is unclear whether Nogueira, who has held that distinction before, and Velasquez will fight for an interim title.
Regardless, Velasquez doesn’t discount his opponent.
“Nogueira, you can never count him out,” he said. “You hurt him, whatever – he’ll still submit you and beat you. He’s just a super tough guy.”
UFC 110 has yet to be formally announced by the promotion, but is expected to take place on Feb. 21 at the 21,000-seat Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.
