Two big men and former champions are headed to Toronto for a long-awaited rematch.
UFC officials today announced that verbal agreements are in place for a heavyweight fight between Frank Mir (15-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) and fellow ex-champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (33-6-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC).
The fight takes place at December's UFC 140 event.
UFC 140 takes place Dec. 10 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The night's main card airs on pay-per-view, and Mir vs. Nogueira will take a featured slot on the broadcast.
Mir, 32, and Nogueira, 35, first fought back in 2008 at UFC 82, where Mir scored a TKO victory over Nogueira. However, in the weeks after the fight, Nogueira confirmed he entered the bout with a knee injury and staph infection that plagued him throughout his training camp.
The win earned Mir an interim title.
Mir, who last held the official title in 2004, now looks to extend his win streak to three fights following a recent knockout win over Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic at UFC 119 and a lopsided unanimous-decision victory over Roy Nelson at UFC 130. In fact, in the past five years and in eight fights, Mir has suffered losses only to Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, which both came via knockout in championship bouts.
Nogueira, meanwhile, recently staved off a potential retirement and thrust himself back into the title picture with an upset knockout victory over fast-rising contender Brendan Schaub at UFC 134. The fight, which took place in his native Brazil, earned the fighter a "Knockout of the Night" award. It also marked the former PRIDE great's fifth victory in seven fights. The lone losses came to Mir and now-champ Cain Velasquez.
Source: Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira II slotted for UFC 140 in Toronto