With former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin sidelined due to injury, Jason Brilz has verbally agreed to step in to face Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira at UFC 114. MMAjunkie.com was first to report on the story and bout agreements are expected to be made final soon.
Brilz has won three of his four fights inside the Octagon, but he will face his toughest test to date when he steps in on four weeks’ notice to challenge Nogueira, who has battled a who’s who of the division. The light heavyweight bout will serve as the co-main event at UFC 114.
Brilz (18-2-1), a ten-year veteran of the sport, battled his way through smaller shows for over eight years and picked up notable wins over UFC veterans Mike Patt and Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald. He made his UFC debut in September of 2008 and stopped Brad Morris in the second round. Each of Brilz’s three most recent fights have gone the distance, with the lone blemish on his record coming in the form of a Split Decision loss to Eliot “The Fire” Marshall at UFC 103. A victory over the legendary Nogueira would solidify Brilz’s place as a top contender at 205 pounds.
Nogueira (18-3-0) displayed excellent boxing in his Octagon debut against Luiz “Banha” Cane at UFC 106 and should be comfortable wherever the fight with Brilz goes. The Brazilian has totalled 11 wins by stoppage and has worked diligently to improve his striking to a level that complements his outstanding submission skills. While Brilz has been known to take fights to the ground, Nogueira is one of the best in the division when fighting off of his back and has only been stopped one time in his career.
UFC 114: “Jackson vs Evans” takes place on May 29th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by a light heavyweight grudge match between former champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and “Sugar” Rashad Evans.
UFC 114 Fight Card (subject to change):
– Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs “Sugar” Rashad Evans
– Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira vs Jason Brilz (*)
– Michael “The Count” Bisping vs Dan Miller
– Todd Duffee vs Mike Russow
– John “The Hitman” Hathaway vs Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez
– Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim vs Amir Sadollah
– Efrain “Hecho en México” Escudero vs Dan “The Upgrade” Lauzon
– Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard vs Thiago Tavares
– Luiz “Banha” Cane vs Cyrille “The Snake” Diabate
– Joe Brammer vs Aaron Riley
– Jesse “Kid Hercules” Forbes vs Ryan Jensen
*Not yet officially announced.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)