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Former Pride standout Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira is close to officially signing with the UFC and the organization is looking to debut the popular fighter at UFC 105 on Nov. 14 in Manchester, England, according to Fighter's Only.
Nogueira's manger, Ed Soares, and UFC President Dana White were discussing a deal for Minotoro following UFC 102.
"He's gonna be with the UFC," Soares said to MMAWeekly.com. "I don't know when he's going to fight. I believe he's going to fight by the end of the year. They haven't announced anything, but Nogueira said it in the press conference. The deal's not completely finalized, but Dana and I shook on it already, so the deal's done, we're just working out the details."
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will be joining his twin brother Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the UFC. The brothers are separated by just seven seconds, with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira being the younger of the two.
Nogueira is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and also a talented boxer as he won a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games. He's won his past five bouts, with wins over Edwin Dewees, Vladimir Matyushenko and, most recently, Dion Staring at Jungle Fight 13 in May. He hasn't lost since Feb. 2007, where he was upset by Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. During his eight-year career, he has fought for promotions such as Pride, Deep, Sengoku, Affliction and HOOKnSHOOT.
"Minotoro" sports 17-3 MMA record, with 10 wins being by stoppages, and he holds notable career wins over the likes of Kazushi Sakuraba, Alistair Overeem(2x), Guy Mezger and Dan Henderson.
A main event bout has yet to be announced for UFC 105, however, the event will feature Michael "The Count" Bisping taking on Denis Kang. TUF 9 winners James Wilks and Ross Pearson will also be in action.
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