The UFC's first event in Sweden will feature a local in the night's headliner.
UFC officials today announced that fast-rising light-heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) will meet veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (20-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in April's UFC on FUEL TV 2 headliner.
Additionally, Brad Pickett (20-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will meet fellow bantamweight Damacio Page (12-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the card.
UFC on FUEL TV 2's main card airs on FUEL TV (live on Saturday afternoon in the U.S.), and as MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) first reported, some prelims are expected to stream on Facebook.
Gustafsson recently scored a first-round TKO of notable Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 141. It marked his fourth straight UFC win (all of which have come via stoppage), which followed his lone career loss. That defeat came via submission to current UFC contender Phil Davis, who now serves as one of the Swede's primary training partners in California.
He takes on Nogueira, a longtime PRIDE fighter who recently rebounded from back-to-back decision losses to Ryan Bader and Davis with a first-round TKO (due to body shots) of future UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz. It was Nogueira's first knockout win since he bested Luiz Cane in fewer than two minutes in his 2009 UFC debut.
Pickett, meanwhile, fights for the first time since a UFC-debut loss to Renan Barao at UFC 138 in his native England. The former WEC fighter entered the bout off an 11-month layoff due to injuries. He was riding a solid 10-1 streak before the first-round submission loss, which earned both competitors a "Fight of the Night" bonus.
He now meets Page, a fellow WEC vet who's also in need of a win. Page recently made his UFC debut and suffered a decision loss to ex-champ Brian Bowles. Like his first loss to Bowles (in the WEC), which began his current 2-3 skid, Page suffered the defeat via guillotine choke at exactly the 3:30 mark of the first round. Page now has been submitted five times in his six career losses.
The latest UFC on FUEL TV 2 card now includes:
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Alessio Sakara vs. Brian Stann
Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Paulo Thiago
Damacio Page vs. Brad Pickett
DaMarques Johnson vs. John Maguire
Cyrille Diabate vs. Jorgen Kruth
Simeon Thoresen vs. Besam Yousef
Francis Carmont vs. Magnus Cedenblad
Papy Abedi vs. James Head
Source: UFC on FUEL TV 2 adds Gustafsson vs. Nogueira, Pickett vs. Page in Sweden