Surging light heavyweight and UFC sophomore Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3) has officially agreed to throw hands with hot-and-cold cage veteran Brandon Vera (11-4) at UFC 109: "Relentless" from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Feb. 6.
Nogueira -- the younger (by seven seconds) twin brother of UFC heavyweight contender Rodrigo "Minotauro" -- recently agreed to a multi-fight deal with the organization. "Lil' Nog" made his debut a memorable one, stopping fast-rising prospect Luis Cane via technical knockout for the first time in "Banha's" career.
The win was "Minotoro's" sixth straight.
In addition to pounding out Edwin "Babyface" DeWees at Affliction: "Banned" in July of 2008, Nogueira got his much sought-after revenge on Vladimir Matyushenko by knocking out "The Janitor" in the second round of their 2002 rematch at Affliction: "Day of Reckoning" this past January.
A convincing win over Vera could put him at the top of a very short list of 205-pound title contenders.
"The Truth" thought the judges were lying when they announced Randy Couture the winner of their UFC 105 match on Nov. 14. Vera was confident he had done more (and more damage) during his battle with "The Natural" in Manchester but it wasn't to be for the former heavyweight.
Prior to the Couture scrap, Vera last saw action at UFC 102 back on August 29 in Portland, battering former TUF contestant Krzysztof Soszynski on the main card en route to a judges decision.
If he can do the same to Nogueira, it will go a long way in reestablishing him as a force in the light heavyweight division.
UFC 109 is expected to feature a light heavyweight battle between elder statesmen Randy "The Natural" Couture and Mark "The Hammer" Coleman. Aging UFC welterweights Matt Serra and Frank Trigg are also slated to hook 'em up.
For more on "Relentless" click here.
Get the latest gear
