After suffering an ankle fracture in training, light heavyweight star Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira has been forced to withdraw from his featured UFC 109 bout with Brandon “The Truth” Vera. It is rumoured that Vera may now face Jon “Bones” Jones at UFC Fight Night 21 in March.

Nogueira made a big impact in his UFC debut at UFC 106 when he stopped the highly-regarded Luiz “Banha” Cane with punches in less than two minutes. He has won six straight fights, with five by stoppage, but the ill-timed ankle injury will sideline him for the first part of 2010.

Vera (11-4-0) dropped a controversial decision to Randy “The Natural” Couture in their headlining bout at UFC 105 and is hungry for the chance to redeem himself and climb back into contention. Having won just three times in his last seven fights, Vera will need to get himself back on track soon or he may be forced to battle it out on event undercards.

Known for his strong Muay Thai skills, Vera also possesses solid wrestling and an excellent but rarely seen ground game. He landed the only damaging strikes in the fight with Couture, who was content to press Vera against the cage for long periods of time, and seemed dumbfounded when Couture was announced as the winner.

Due to the injury to Nogueira, Vera will require a new opponent and he has hinted at a showdown with rising star Jon “Bones” Jones. The fight may serve as the main event at UFC Fight Night 21 on March 31, 2010 in Denver, Colorado.