• UFC 134

Big Nog heading for showdown with Schaub

ESPN staff
May 16, 2011
Brendan Schaub knocked out Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 128 © Getty Images
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Brendan Schaub is expected to be the man to fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 134 in Rio.

Nogueira revealed on Sunday that he will be on the Rio card, and he heightened expectations when claiming he would form part of the co-main event. On a card already featuring Anderson Silva v Yushin Okami and Mauricio Shogun Rua v Forrest Griffin, Big Nog's claim was a significant one.

Now it appears he will face in-form heavyweight Schaub, who knocked out Mirko Cro Cop in his last outing. Schaub has been asking for the Nogueira fight for a while and, having beaten Cro Cop, has far better claims to the Nogueira bout than the Croatian.

"We are lobbying daily for the fight," said Schaub's manager Lex McMahon in a text to ESPN. "As of now, we have not been offered the fight. We are optimistic that if [Nogueira] is healthy, Brendan has a good shot to be his opponent in Brazil.

"Also, I'm a huge Cro Cop fan and have tremendous respect for him, but it seems a stretch that Cro Cop would fight [Nogueira] in Brazil after Brendan knocked him out with one of the most vicious KOs I've ever seen. Brendan is one of the most dominant fighters in the division and we're hopeful the UFC will reward him with the great honour of fighting in Rio."

The UFC is yet to officially confirm the contest, which would take place on August 27, but it is expected than an agreement will be reached shortly.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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