This is the rematch!
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's rebirth as an elite mixed martial artist has led him to a long awaited rematch against Frank Mir, which will take place at UFC 140 on Dec. 10 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The promotion brought word of the pending contest a short time ago, saying:
"Both men are known as two of the premiere submission specialists in the division but have shown dangerous striking skills as well," said UFC president Dana White.
The two first met back in Dec. 2008 at UFC 92, where Mir became the first man in history to finish Nogueira and, consequently, the first to do so by way of knockout.
Can he repeat that performance three years later?
These two were supposed to rematch all the way back in Sept. 2010 at UFC 119; however, Nogueira suffered yet another injury that led to Mir taking on -- and knocking out -- Mirko Filipovic.
"Minotuaro" made the decision shortly after to take an extended vacation from the Octagon to get the necessary treatment, which included several surgeries, in order to come back healthy enough to get his career back on track after two knockout losses in three fights.
And that's exactly what he did, returning this past Aug. 27 in his native land of Brazil to knock out Brendan Schaub inside the very first round.
For his part, Mir was last in action in May, picking up a dominant decision victory over Roy Nelson, who, admittedly enough, was suffering from walking pneumonia at the time.
The powers that be weren't altogether pleased with Mir's performance that night, all things considered. In fact, one of the last times he truly turned heads was when he battered and beatdown Nogueira all those years ago.
Of course, "Big Nog" claimed he had suffered from an extended -- and particularly -- troubling cas3e of staph in the time leading up to the fight. If healthy, he said, the fight would have gone down much differently.
Time to find out how true that may be.
UFC 140 is set to invade the Air Canada Centre on Dec. 10 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While no announcement has been made regarding who exactly will headline the show, Nogueira vs. Mir seems like a perfect candidate.
Other bouts announced for the card include Rory MacDonald vs. Brian Ebersole and Mitch Clarke vs. John Cholish.
As always, keep it locked to MMAmania.com for more on this still-developing fight card.