News of the switch was confirmed earlier today by the UFC.

Silva’s time on the sidelines stemmed from his submission of doctored urine relating to a January 2011 fight against Brandon Vera. The 29-year old then came forward to reveal he’d used steroids prior to the bout to help him heal from a back injury and could not afford to withdraw after being out for the previous twelve months due to health-related reasons. He holds an overall record of 14-2 including past victories over Houston Alexander and Keith Jardine.

UFC on Fuel 2 will also feature match-ups including Diego Nunes vs. Dennis Siver and Brian Stann vs. Alessio Sakara.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

While Gustafsson certainly respects Nogueira based on his past accomplishments, he also knows the Brazilian veteran has flaws he can exploit. In a recent conversation with TATAME “The Mauler” offered some slight elaboration on his mindset, making it clear his goal is to wow his fellow Swedes with a strike-based stoppage.

“I hope he goes for it otherwise I’ll knock him out,” Gustafsson laughed when asked about Nogueira’s statements regarding a knockout of his own. “I’m ready to box! I have a gameplan for him.”

“He is very tough guy. He’s a legend in the sport,” Gustafsson continued on the topic of “Minotoro”, though was not impressed by his outing against Tito Ortiz in December, saying, “It wasn’t a good fight, Tito gave him the fight.”

UFC on Fuel 2 takes place on April 21 in Stockholm. Other bouts include Diego Nunes vs. Dennis Siver and Brian Stann vs. Alessio Sakara.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Despite holding a black belt in jiu-jitsu, the younger Nogueira brother prefers to stand and trade with his opponents. In an interview with Tatame.com, “Lil Nog” said, “I guess I can fight anywhere, but I rather stand-up because fans dig the knockouts and I’m a fighter who likes giving the KO to the fans.”

Next up for Nogueira is Alexander Gustafsson, in the main event of UFC on FuelTV 2, which happens to be taking place in Gustafsson’s home country of Sweden. Much to the Brazilian’s delight, his opponent is also known for his striking. “I train harder when I’m fighting a striker, I really like training Muay Thai, Boxing. I guess I can do a good fight,” said Nogueira. “Tito Ortiz came to strike against me, and I got the knockout. Cane tried to stand-up and I got to knock him out. I can do a good fight against striker.”

Where does a win put Nogueira in a deep light heavyweight division, well according to the man himself, that depends on how the victory comes. “I really want to get a knockout to be in a good position,” stated “Lil Nog”. “I’m a fighter who doesn’t like to get stuck during the fight. It’s hard to see me doing that. If I take someone down, I’ll try to use the ground and pound until the end. If I’m standing up I’ll go for the knockout.”

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the match-up was confirmed earlier today by UFC officials.

Nogueira will be the stiffest test of the 24-year old’s career, holding an overall mark of 20-5 including past wins over Alistair Overeem (X2) and Dan Henderson. The well-rounded Brazilian is coming off an opening round stoppage of Tito Ortiz, a finish making him the first person to take out Ortiz in the first frame since Guy Mezger in 1997, and is comfortable both standing and on the ground as evident by the even split between submissions/TKOs on his record.

While Nogueira poses a major challenge for the 13-1 Gustafsson he certainly won’t be the first significant threat “The Mauler” has faced and felled, having picked up back-to-back strike-based victories over respected competitors Matt Hamill and most recently Vladimir Matyushenko.

The lineup for UFC on Fuel 2 is also highlighted by a number of intriguing pairings with international flare including Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Paulo Thiago and Brian Stann vs. Alessio Sakara.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The late night nugget of information was announced through the UFC’s website.

Comparably, Nogueira hasn’t stepped foot in the Octagon other than to support his teammates since dropping a decision to Phil Davis in March. He had been scheduled to face Rich Franklin at UFC 133 but was forced out of the bout with an undisclosed injury and has been on a doctor-mandated vacation since then. Nogueira holds an overall record of 19-5 with past victories over Vladimir Matyushenko, Dan Henderson, and Alistair Overeem.

Also interesting is the fact Nogueira’s twin brother, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, will see action later in the evening with it being revealed earlier this week that “Minotauro” would be facing Frank Mir on the same card.

The match-up will mark the first time Ortiz has fought three times in a year, let alone half of one, since 2006. The polarizing former champ is 16-9-1 in his career with highlights featuring Ken Shamrock, Wanderlei Silva, and Vitor Belfort.

Other bouts at UFC 140 include Rich Attonito vs. Claude Patrick and Rory MacDonald vs. Brian Ebersole.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

UFC President Dana White announced the unfortunate news through his Twitter where he also stated the organization was already in the process of trying to find a replacement. Though no candidates were mentioned, a possibility albeit a far-fetched one could be Strikeforce’s Muhammed Lawal who took to the social networking site in response to White’s message and volunteered to step in on late notice.

UPDATE: The UFC has since released information saying the fight has been scrapped with Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshishiro Akiyama sliding into the co-headlining spot and Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman getting a bump up from the prelims to the main card.

Other changes to the show from the last seven days include Tito Ortiz stepping in for an injured Phil Davis against Rashad Evans in the main event as well as the addition of Matt Hamill to a match-up with Alexander Gustafsson after original opponent Vlad Matyushenko was forced off the show for health-related reasons.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the August 6 pairing was announced on the UFC’s Twitter feed.

The match-up with Franklin should be a welcome change in style for Nogueira after facing wrestlers in his previous two appearances. “Little Nog” is 19-5 overall with victories over Luiz Cane, Vlad Matyushenko, Dan Henderson, and Alistair Overeem while only having been beaten a single time by way of strikes.

Fan-favorite Franklin was last seen in action a few months back at UFC 126 where he was unanimously outpointed in a close fight with Forrest Griffin. Though a solid grappler, “Ace” has never shied away from his love of stand-up with more than half of his twenty-eight total wins coming as the result of a TKO.

The two talented 205ers will join Vitor Belfort and Yoshishiro Akiyama in co-headlining UFC 133 with other scheduled fights including Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara and Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the change was reported by MMAJunkie and was confirmed by Ortiz via Twitter.

Though Ortiz and Nogueira are similar in age, have found a great deal of success in the past, and are looking to rebound from a loss in their most-recent fights, the two ring-veterans are presently at a very different points in their career. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has lost four of his last five fights with a draw in the other and hasn’t beaten anyone other than Ken Shamrock in more than four years. Comparably, Nogueira had won seven straight before being outpointed by undefeated 205er Ryan Bader at UFC 119 in September and is 19-4 overall.

However, while each has endured some form of adversity as of late, their accomplishments in MMA cannot be denied. In addition to being one of the most popular champions in UFC history, the 15-8-1 Ortiz holds victories over a number of notable adversaries including Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, and Forrest Griffin. Nogueira has also walked away with his hands raised against elite-level opposition such as Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem.

The rumored match-up was reported by Canadian media outlet SportsNet who also broke word of the event’s occurrence.

Ortiz’s struggles as of late are well-documented in the media, as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has four losses and a draw in his last five fights without a win over anyone other than Ken Shamrock since the first half of 2006. However, the former light heavyweight champion appears to still have gas in his tank, as he nearly defeated Forrest Griffin in November 2009, though he ultimately lost by way of split-decision, and also went fifteen full minutes against Lyoto Machida with a near-submission at the end a little more than a year prior. Still, after the run of misfortune in the ring including a clear-cut point-based loss to Matt Hamill after a year off from action at UFC 121 in October, Ortiz still has questions to answer about his future in MMA

Enter Nogueira, a 19-4 PRIDE veteran with finishing performances against Luis Cane, Vlad Matyushenko, Dan Henderson, and Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem. He is 2-1 since signing with the UFC and will be looking to bounce back from a solid showing against undefeated 205-pound contender Ryan Bader last September in Indianapolis at UFC 119.

In addition to Nogueira vs. Ortiz, as well as the first defense of “Shogun” Rua’s run as light heavyweight champ, the card (labeled UFC 129) is also set to feature a lightweight match-up between New Jersey native Kurt Pellegrino and Gleison Tibau. Their forthcoming fight was announced by Pellegrino yesterday via Twitter.

News of the potential match-up was first reported by Tatame and later confirmed by White during pre-UFC 122 festivities.

“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” hasn’t won since beating Ken Shamrock four years ago, compiling a record of 0-4-1 over the span with losses against the likes of Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin, and most recently Matt Hamill at UFC 121 last month. Ortiz is 15-8-1 overall and was considered at one point to be among the best 205-pounders in the sport.

Nogueira, who is 19-4 in his career, will also be looking to bounce back from a loss sustained during his previous in-ring appearance. The twin brother of UFC heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira fell by way of unanimous decision to undefeated light heavyweight Ryan Bader at UFC 119 this past September. Prior to the defeat “Little Nog” had won seven straight fights.

The Brazilian light heavyweight recently spoke to Tatame about his hard-fought decision loss to still-undefeated Ultimate Fighter Season 8 champ Ryan Bader at the event, and during the conversation he made it clear he felt takedowns and passive top control are weighed far too heavily in the UFC when compared to fight-finishing techniques.

“(Bader) was good, has excellent coaches, (and) is tough, but I think I had more initiative (during) the fight – but he got two or three takedowns,” Nogueira explained. “When I went forward he took me down, but he didn’t do a thing on the floor. He was good at the beginning…tried to be objective…punched me like four times, hit some elbows…but then he just tried to hold me all fight long.”

“The way I see, I won the second and third rounds, and he won the first. When it comes to scoring who did more damage on the opponent, I think it was me,” he said of the result.

When it came to why he felt the judges had ultimately rendered their scorecards in favor of the two-time All-American wrestler, Nogueira responded, “UFC is different than PRIDE. They worship takedowns, but the guys don’t do much on the floor and don’t even try to submit or knock us out. What happened was that (Bader) kept trying to take me down and I wanted to keep the fight standing up to get the knockout.”

“The judges don’t get much about the ground game,” he continued. “If it’s not (very) strong Jiu-Jitsu they give it for who has more takedowns. I think they should give point for takedown defenses too. Once the guy defended a takedown he should get a point too; not only the takedown but its defense as well.”

However, in conclusion, Nogueira also made sure not to take too much away from Bader’s overall performance. “The fight was tied and it could have gone both ways,” he began. “(But) the guy is to be congratulated. He’s a young guy, proved himself to be good, (and) showed he can take people down…but I want to come back as soon as possible, try to win, and fight again to be among the ‘Top 5’.”

Other bouts confirmed for the card were Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman, Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago in a rematch, Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen and Matt Serra will be facing off with Frank Trigg in welterweight action.

The event has been set for February 6, 2010 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, and will air live on pay-per-view.

Nogueira will be looking to make it two in a row with the UFC following his first round demolition of Luiz Cane at UFC 106, while Vera will be hoping to place himself back into the winners circle following a hard-fought unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Randy Couture during UFC 105.

The Brazilian recently talked with Tatame.com about his upcoming fight with hard-hitting Luis Arthur Cane and a desired rematch with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

“I consider it a great change in my career, we’re taking this debut very serious here,” said Nogueira. “They have a lot of new guys coming, so we have to innovate and always train hard.”

With Rua scheduled to fight Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 104, “Minotouro” said he would welcome a rematch against former Pride champion. The two first met at Pride’s Critical Countdown in 2005 with the win eventually going to Rua in a unanimous decision.

“Shogun is a great fighter, a great champion, and he was in the best shape of his career,” explained Lil Nog. “He has his merits, in the end of the fight I tried to get his back. It could be different, but that’s ok. I’d like to do this fight again.”

With his highly anticipated debut in November, Nogueira should make an immediate impact in the already stacked UFC light heavyweight division. He previously holds notable wins over Guy Mezger, Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, and Alistair Overeem (twice). He also avenged his first career defeat with a TKO victory over Vladimir Matyushenko earlier this year.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

The event is scheduled for November 14 from Manchester, England.

According to a recent report on Sherdog.com, both men have verbally agreed to the bout and are currently awaiting the paperwork to make it official.

Nogueira has long been considered among the top competitors at light-heavyweight, making a name for himself in PRIDE before moving on to the Affliction and Sengoku promotions. The twin brother to former UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira holds a career record of 17-3, with wins over the likes of Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, and Vladimir Matyushenko.

A win over a fighter a seasoned and respected as Nogueira would likely propel Cane towards a title shot in the near future. With a career record of 10-1, Canes sole loss was due to being disqualified after kneeing a downed James Irvin to the face during UFC 79. Since then he has put together three consecutive wins in the Octagon heading into this showdown with Nogueira.

Below is a full list of the bouts expected for UFC 105:

• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Luis Cane

• Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang

• Dan Hardy vs. Dong Hyun Kim

• Matt Brown vs. James Wilks

• Paul Taylor vs. John Hathaway

• Terry Etim vs. Shannon Gugerty

• Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley

• Matt Riddle vs. Nick Osipczak

• Andre Winner vs. Roli Delgado

• DaMarques Johnson vs. Peter Sobotta

• Jared Hamman vs. Alexander Gustafson

The news comes courtesy of a recent report from the Fighter’s Only magazine official website.

The UFC has yet to announce a venue for UFC 105, but it is widely expected to take place at the Manchester Evening New Arena.

The light-heavyweight twin brother of UFC heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has etched out a position for himself amongst the top fighters in the division after compiling a professional record of 17-3, while winning his last five in a row. Nogueira has put together impressive victories over the likes of Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson and Vladimir Matyushenko during the course of his career fighting for various promotions including PRIDE, Affliction and Sengoku.

Nogueira’s twin brother, and fellow UFC fighter Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira recently spilt the beans during a media conference call for UFC 102 which will be featuring himself and Randy Couture as a headliner.

“They’re going to announce that,” said the former UFC champion in regards to his brother’s arrival in the UFC. “I don’t know when. They’ve already talked to him, so for sure he’s coming to the UFC.

Additionally, MMAJunkie.com has been able to confirm through a source close to the fighter that he has recently been removed from a Bitetti Combat event scheduled for September 12 in his native country of Brazil, so an Octagon debut for “Little Nog” could be in the very near future.

Nogueira has established himself as a premier light-heavyweight, compiling an impressive record of 17-3 while competing for the PRIDE, Sengoku and Affliction promotions. He has notched wins over highly regarded fighters such as Kazushi Sakuraba, Dan Henderson, and Alistair Overeem to name a few.

Nogueira’s last appearance saw him avenge a prior defeat at the hands of Vladimir Matyushenko by TKO in January.

The fight was part of the Jungle Fight: Ceara event that took place in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Nogueira controlled the action for as long as the contest lasted, utilizing a superior stand-up and ground arsenal against the Golden Glory trained fighter before eventually securing the fight concluding triangle choke in the third round.

Outside of a closely contested decision loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in 2005 and a shocking knockout loss to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in 2007 under the PRIDE banner, “Lil Nog” has not seen a single defeat since 2002, a decision loss to Vladimir Matyushenko that he avenged by TKO in January. He is widely considered to be one of the elite competitors in the light heavyweight division.

A full list of results from the card are listed below:

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Dion Staring – Submission Round 3

Johil de Oliveira def. Rodrigo Jacome – Submission Round 1

Ivan Iberico def. Jamil Silveira – Submission Round 1

Pedro Santos def. Killer Junior – Submission Round 2

Arimarcel Santos def. Marcos Motta – Submission Round 1

Ednaldo Santos def. Artur “Tubarão” – TKO Round 1

Alexandre “Pulga” def. Andrezinho Nogueira – Decision

Alex Nacfu def. Anistavio “Gasparzinho” – TKO Round 2

Eric Silva def. Carlos Villamor – Submission Round 2

Nogueira, commonly referred to as “Lil Nog” because of him being physically smaller than his identical twin and former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antônio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, will be fighting for the first time since his second round TKO stoppage of Vladimir Matyushenko at Affliction: Day of Reckoning in January.

Outside of the recently avenged unanimous decision loss at the hands of Matyushenko in 2002, Nogueira has only suffered two defeats during his fighting career. One being a hard fought unanimous decision loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in June of 2005, and the other being the shocking upset knockout suffered at the hands of Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in February of 2007. Lil Nog has put together wins over names such as Kazushi Sakuraba, Alistair Overeem, and Dan Henderson throughout the course of his career and is widely considered to be one of the most talented light heavyweights in the business.

The fight was announced this afternoon on Tatame.com where Nogueira had this to say,”I think that I’ll go well and I will get another victory. Being in Brazil, it will have a special taste”.

The bout with Staring will surprisingly mark Nogueira’s first professional bout in his native home of Brazil.

Staring is an experienced veteran that trains out of Team Golden Glory along the likes of Sergei Kharitonov, Alistair Overeem and Semmy Schilt. He has amassed an impressive record of 15-5 during his fighting career with nine of his victories coming by either knockout or TKO. Staring has lost his last two bouts, one being by doctor stoppage and the other coming by armbar submission.

Matyushenko defeated Nogueira in Japan in 2002 via unanimous decision and is currently riding an eight fight winning streak. Matyushenko dominated competition inside the IFL, working his way into the top fifteen light heavyweights in the world. His last victory came against Jamal Patterson in April at an IFL event.

Nogueira most recently defeated Edwin Dewees at Affliction: Banned last month in dominating fashion, ending the fight via TKO in the first round. Nogueira looked every bit the part of a top ten light heavyweight during the victory.

This should be a very interesting fight as both of these guys are at the top of their game right now. Matyushenko’s wrestling has always been his strong point while Nogueira’s jiu-jitsu and boxing are his strong points, particularly his jiu jitsu. It won’t be a matter of if this fight hits the ground, but a matter of when. And when things do go there, expect it to get very interesting. Excellent matchmaking by Affliction and a very solid undercard bout to go along with the main attraction of Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett.

The “Streetfight Bancho” will make his return to the cage in August, but finding his first stateside win might not be so easy. Hiroyuki Takaya will take on up-and-coming 145-pounder Cub Swanson at the next WEC offering in Las Vegas on August 3. A source close to Takaya confirmed the bout to Sherdog.com.

This is a great fight for the WEC to put on a televised portion of the undercard. Swanson will surely be looking to redeem himself after a quick submission loss to Jens Pulver. Swanson has since recorded a submission victory fighting outside of the WEC but getting himself a win over Takaya would put him right back on track at 145 lbs.

Takaya will be looking to do the same after he was upset at by Leonard Garcia earlier in the year at Garcia’s 145 lbs. debut in the organization. Takaya is a beastly striker and one of the more highly regarded Japanese prospects to come to the U.S. and fight for the WEC. Great matchmaking by the WEC here and an opportunity for both guys to get right back into the mix of things with a win.