The Nogueira brothers with father: Marcelo Alonso/Sherdog.com
There was brief speculation that Brock Lesnar’s next title defense against Cain Velasquez may head UFC 119 on Sept. 25, the UFC’s debut in Indianapolis. When that was dispelled, there was a question of whom the UFC could call on to carry the pay-per-view.
The answer turned out to be the Nogueiras. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was tapped to face Frank Mir in a heavyweight rematch on the card, while brother Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was matched against Ryan Bader at light heavyweight.
Several other bouts for UFC 119 came into focus this week, including surging lightweight Evan Dunham looking to take a leap toward the title against former champion Sean Sherk. Plus, in an eyebrow-raiser, the company signed grizzled K-1 and Pride veteran Mark Hunt to a four-fight deal that starts with a fight against Sean McCorkle on Sept. 25.
Hunt, 36, renowned for his hard head and his unlikely 2001 K-1 Grand Prix win, has lost his last five MMA fights. Dana White tweeted that the UFC was somehow obliged to sign Hunt due to the company’s 2007 purchase of Pride Fighting Championships, to whom Hunt was contracted at the time.
As for UFC 120, set for October in London, Fighters Only reported that Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama has been penciled as the main event. The card, which also features Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit, is expected to be a free Spike TV broadcast and not a pay-per-view.