Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictured) is finally prepared to end his extended stint on the IR. It was confirmed late Wednesday night the former interim heavyweight champion will make his return against Dave Herman at UFC 153.
Nogueira has alternated between wins and losses over his past six scraps. He was last seen having his right arm snapped in two by Mir at UFC 140. The former interim champion had surgery in December and has been on the mend ever since.
The jiu jitsu specialist was slated to make his comeback against Cheick Kongo at UFC 149, but “Big Nog” suffered complications during rehab and was forced to withdraw.
Herman has lost two straight fights, with his most recent defeat coming in a 51-second knockout to Roy Nelson at UFC 146.
HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hosts the festivities.
Here is the event’s updated lineup:
Preliminary Card:
(Facebook 6:45PM ET/3:45PM PT)
Cristiano Marcello vs. Reza Madadi
Luiz Cane vs. Chris Camozzi
Sergio Moraes vs. Renee Forte
(FX 8PM/5PM)
Joey Gambino vs. Diego Brandao
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Gleison Tibau
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Geronimo dos Santos
Rony “Jason” Bezerra vs. Sam Sicilia
Main Card:
(Pay-Per-View 10PM ET/7PM PT)
Demian Maia vs. Rick Story
Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado
Jon Fitch vs. Erick Silva
Dave Herman vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Glover Teixeira vs. Fabio Maldonado
Stephan Bonnar vs. Anderson Silva