Nogueira To Face The Winner of Lesnar/Carwin

[Marquis]

Inside Fights has confirmed a Wrestling Observer Newsletter report that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will face the winner of the Nov. 21 Brock Lesnar/Shane Carwin fight.

Nogueira’s spirited victory over Randy Couture placed him near the top of the challenger’s heap in the UFC’s heavyweight division. He recently requested a rematch with Frank Mir, but the UFC has no interest in canceling Mir’s bout with Cheick Kongo, which is scheduled for UFC 107 in December.

Nogueira will instead wait to see who comes out victorious in the UFC 106 championship bout. No timetable has been given for Nogueira’s title shot, but it will likely happen at some point in the first three months of 2010.

I would have preferred they did cancel Mir's bout, so Nog can prove once and for all he really was sick coming into his bout with Mir, but a title shot is almost just as good, almost. The heavyweight division in the UFC is looking better and better. You have Nog waiting to take on the winner of Lesnar/Carwin, then you have Mir and Carwin if they win their bouts also waiting for a possible title shot. The heavyweight division is really starting to shape up now. Should be exciting to watch these coming months.

Whoever comes out the winner of Lesnar/Carwin, in my opinion, will have to face the biggest threat in the heavyweight division outside of Fedor in Nog. Big Nog for a long time, was the number 2 heavyweight. Now with the inclusion of Lesnar, and his lose to Mir, he's dropped that, but I still see him as the number 2 heavyweight in the world. Without a doubt this will be Lesnar/Carwin's greatest challenge in the UFC HW division. I'd give Lesnar a better chance then Carwin to beat Nog, simply because of how well he controlled Mir on the ground, but controlling Nog is much more dangerous, due to him being able to take huge amounts of pain when healthy and still think straight enough to pull off a submission. I'm looking forward to how much pain Nog can actually still take. Even though he was sick coming into his Mir fight, he still did get TKO'ed, even though he was awake. So taking a shot from either Lesnar or Carwin, while would put almost anyone out, it will be interesting if even the mighty Nog can take one and still fight.

Looking forward to this.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Can't say I'm surprised. Actually, I'm surprised it wasn't already announced. I was very impressed by Nog's victory over Couture who is no slouch. Turns out all those sickening blows to the head he's taken haven't turned him into a zombie... quite yet.

It'll be interesting to see if he can make Lesnar tap considering his massive limbs. Or if Carwin wins, well, he has massive limbs too, right?

 

[Rizza]

Well, I am absolutly looking forward to this, I mean Nogueira is my favorite fighter of all time, so of course I will be happy as hell he gets a shot at the title but damn I was looking foward to a Mir/Nog 2,I even think that I put it on my list in the dream card thread, I wanted to see it just to show that he probably could beat Mir, and definitely wouldn't of got stopped if he wouldn't been sick before the fight. I can't really tell who would be a better, more competive match for Nog, but I would love to see Lesnar fight him soley going on name power, but who knows? Maybe after this next Heavyweight Title fight with Lesnar, If Carwin somehow comes out on top, then maybe Carwin will immediately get some name power himself from being the guy to take the strap off of Brock Lesnar. Whoever it his though I hope Nog beats them, damn do I ever hope Nog beats them, better yet, I hope he taps them out just to make his victory that much sweeter when he takes his belt back.

 

[jmt225]

This was released today:

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is rumored to be heading for a face-off against Gabriel Gonzaga, possibly at UFC 107 with the winner earning the next heavyweight title shot at the winner of the championship bout between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin at UFC 106, according to Nogueira's Muay Thai coach, Luis Alves.

I think this seems like more of a possibility than just Big Nog being granted a title shot out of nowhere.

However, I really wish his opponent was Frank Mir, rather than Gabriel Gonzaga. What the fuck has Gonzaga done anyway to be in title contention? Blows my mind...

Nevertheless, should be an intriguing fight. I'm going to be really interested in seeing how Big Nog approaches it. Will he stand-up with Gonzaga, or go to the ground with him? Either way, Gonzaga is pretty well rounded, and pretty damn strong, but he does have a limited gas tank and I see that being the death of him in this fight. But until that happens... it still has a high chance of being a very entertaining fight.

 

[Uncle Sam]

However, I really wish his opponent was Frank Mir, rather than Gabriel Gonzaga. What the fuck has Gonzaga done anyway to be in title contention? Blows my mind...

The hardest crotch kick in the business. He'll smash you in the balls, watch you throw up into a bucket for five minutes and then choke you out after a few minutes of wrestling. Championship material if I ever saw it.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

After Velasquez's decimation of Ben Rothwell last night, I think that he deserves a shot at the champion just as much as Nogueira does. Why not book a fight between Velasquez and Nogueira for number one contendership? It would be a great test for both fighters. Velasquez is flirting with becoming an elite heavyweight. Taking on Nogueira would give him his first real exposure to an elite talent, and if he wins, he'd be more than ready for a title shot. Besides, it's not like Nogueira's tied up with anyone right now. Gonzaga's taking on Junior Dos Santos at UFC 108.

If Nogueira wins, then it proves that he's definitely back, is still capable of beating younger talent, and that the Frank Mir fight was indeed a fluke due to that staph infection. It would also more than cement his place as the #1 contender, and even a possible favorite against either Lesnar or Carwin.

UFC 107's main card is made up of:
Penn vs. Sanchez
Mir vs. Kongo
Florian vs. Guida
Fitch vs. Alves

Adding a Velasquez/Nogueira co-main event would truly stack this card and make it a more than worthy year end show. It would also provide enough rest for a main event showdown with the champion and challenger both having an almost equal amount of time to recuperate and train.

 

[jmt225]

Eh, I think the UFC is fucking up with this.

Just give us the Nog/Mir rematch already. That's what everybody wants, including the damn fighters themselves. And the winner of that could get the winner of Velasquez vs. the winner of Carwin/Lesnar. And yes... I do believe Cain Velasquez deserves a title shot right now. If Shane Carwin could have gotten one so soon, then it's not fair to make Cain wait and continue to feed him to other contenders.

So, yeah... if it were up to me, that's how I would handle the situation.

 

[Henry Hill]

Just give us the Nog/Mir rematch already. That's what everybody wants, including the damn fighters themselves. And the winner of that could get the winner of Velasquez vs. the winner of Carwin/Lesnar. And yes... I do believe Cain Velasquez deserves a title shot right now. If Shane Carwin could have gotten one so soon, then it's not fair to make Cain wait and continue to feed him to other contenders.n.

I agree that its stupid for the UFC to ignore what the fighters AND the fans want, but i can understand waiting to do Nog and Mir again, considering Mir's last match was getting completely decimated by the current heavyweight champion. If Mir can take out Kongo, then i think the rematch is set, but to me before he's put in what is basically a number one contender's match, he needs to get a good win. Cain Velasquez to me would be a better match up for Nog, to set up a number one contender, but really he has a case for a title shot anyway. He deserves the shot more than Carwin, in my opinion. But an argument could be made for either. Ultimately I see a Lesnar v. Noguiera after Carwin, which is really unfair to Cain, but i think thats what will end up happening.

 

[jmt225]

Just a little update, guys.

Cain Velasquez will still fight Nogueira, as the fight is tentatively being rescheduled for UFC 110 in Australia.

So, I guess that's good news. I mean, I would still rather see Big Nog vs. Frank Mir 2, but this should be a very interesting match-up nonetheless. I'm curious to see what Velaquez's game plan will be against Nogueira. He obviously doesn't want to stand with him, so of course you would assume he would want to take the fight to the ground, but at the same time... Big Nog is perhaps the best Heavyweight in MMA fighting off his back.

So, like I said... very interesting match-up. I think Big Nog will take it, but you never know. Cain Velasquez just seems like someone you should never count out.