A heavyweight bout between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Stefan Struve has been announced for UFC 190 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on August 1st.
Nogueira recently stepped in to replace Anderson Silva as a coach opposite Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua on the set of TUF Brazil 4 and will be fighting for the first time since a first round KO loss to Roy Nelson back in April of last year.
That marked the 38 year-old’s third loss in his last four fights and has led to talk that he should retire, and last year ‘Big Nog’ hinted that 2015 could be when he finally hangs up his gloves for good.
So, potentially Struve could be the fighter that finally puts an end to Nogueira’s career, but that will be easier said than done as the 27 year-old is going through a time time in his own career at the moment.
He too is coming off a KO loss which came courtesy of Alistair Overeem at the tail end of last year. That fight had marked his comeback fight after being diagnosed with a potentially career-threatening heart condition in 2013, though that issue has since been brought under control to enable him to return to the Octagon safely.
Still, overall Struve is on a two fight losing streak and is barely clinging on to the No.15 spot on the official heavyweight rankings, so there will be a lot of pressure on his shoulders to emerge victorious in August.
Nogueira Vs Struve will likely feature on the main card of UFC 190 which will be headlined by a woman’s bantamweight title fight as Ronda Rousey fights Bethe Correia, while ‘Big Nog’s’ brother Antonio Rogerio Nogueira also features on the card against Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.
