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Brock Lesnar? Sick. Lyoto Machida? Hurt. Anderson Silva? Recovering. Georges St. Pierre? Rehabbing. BJ Penn? Busy.

That’s the hand the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was dealt as it prepares for its traditional blockbuster year-end pay-per-view (PPV) event, which is slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2.

So with all its champions unable to headline the card, the promotion today announced that former UFC interim heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, would indeed face off against undefeated rising star, Cain Velasquez, in the UFC 108 main event of the evening.

But just because there is no title at stake doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot on the line.

UFC President Dana White explains the significance:

“Nogueira vs. Velasquez is a great matchup between the present and the future of the heavyweight division. Nogueira showed in the Couture fight that he still has plenty left to offer at the top level of the game, and Velasquez was devastating in his win over Ben Rothwell, so with both guys in top form, we’re definitely going to see a number one contender emerge from this fight to take on the winner of the Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin title fight.”

UFC 108 was expected to feature a reshuffled main event between ailing heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, and number one division contender, Shane Carwin. However, Lesnar is still suffering from a serious illness, mononucleosis, which scrapped the intended main event at UFC 106 on Nov. 21.

As expected, former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, will collide with Brazilian slugger, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on UFC 108 as it develops and everything else.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Nogueira and rising contender Cain Velasquez are likely going to battle for a No. 1 contender spot at UFC 108 this coming January.

The heavyweight clash will add some much needed punch to a quickly diminishing fight card. The “New Years” event is typically an action-packed fight card with top names throughout the lineup, but a recent rash of injuries has depleted the next three or four UFC Pay-Per-View events.

An already rescheduled heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin now appears to be once again in jeopardy for UFC 108, which may very likely leave the event without a championship title fight.

Velasquez is coming of a very strong showing against Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 while “Big Nog” is coming off a victory over Randy Couture at UFC 102 this past August.

Former UFC interim heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, is in talks to take on undefeated rising star Cain Velasquez at UFC 108, which is slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2.

Sensei Sportv (via Tatame.com) was the first to report the potential showdown. No official announcement has come from the promotion, or Velasquez’s camp, at this time.

Stay tuned.

UFC 108 is expected to feature a reshuffled main event between ailing heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar (if he can recover from a serious illness), and number one division contender, Shane Carwin. Former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, is currently penciled in to collide with Brazilian slugger, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

Props: CageReport.net

Quoteworthy:

“So what, (Velasquez) was punching me, big deal, isn’t that what happens in a fight? The reality of the situation is that I was using the cage to get to my feet and which I basically did and then for some reason Steve [Mazzagatti] decides to step in. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. I mean if the punches had some force behind them I could understand it but those were like soft jabs that didn’t hurt at all, it was like he was just hitting me to stay busy rather than damage me. That’s is why I wasn’t covering up – the punches didn’t hurt and definitely weren’t doing any damage, at least not enough to slow me down, but then he [Steve Mazzagatti] calls the fight? Please, my grandmother hits harder that that. Maybe it looked bad to those at home and to those who have never trained but I had worked back into standing position and was ready to fire back some of my own, so how bad could the punches have really been? Come on, if you would have seen me the next day you’d have hardly thought I was in a fight – I woke up the next day with barely a scratch on my face. Look at some fights I have had in my career, I’ve been in plenty of worse positions and managed to turn the fight around and win. You know Shogun wasn’t the only one robbed that night. So what If I lost the first round by a small margin, all that meant is there were still two rounds up for grabs, my shoulders were just loosening up at the beginning of the second round – the real fight was just getting started. Look, I don’t want to make this sound like I’m taking anything away from Cain, he’s a great fighter, probably one of the best in the heavy weight division at the moment. I just feel like I’ve been working my entire career to get this shot in the UFC, only to have it taken away from me by an incompetent referee. Losing is one thing but to have such a big opportunity taken from you? I’m disgusted.”

Former International Fight League (IFL) heavyweight standout “Big” Ben Rothwell talks about the timing of his TKO stoppage against Cain Velasquez in the co-main event at UFC 104: “Machida vs. Shogun” back on Oct. 24. The Miletich Fighting Systems (MFS) product was on the receiving end of a one-sided beatdown that consisted of Velasquez taking him down, controlling him on the ground and punching him in the face en route to a second round loss. Rothwell contends that he was finally back to his feet and ready to turn things around until referee Steve Mazzagatti robbed him of his chance to pull off what would have been nothing short of a miraculous comeback. Was Rothwell robbed ala Shogun? Or did all those punches to the head erase the memory of what actually transpired during the fight? Opinions please.

For those of you who may have missed last week’s announcement, MMAmania.com is featuring a UFC 104 contest give-a-way that began on Sunday, Oct. 18, and will run until Saturday, Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. ET.

We will award several readers who enter the contest with Dethrone Royalty walkout t-shirts of surging heavyweight contender, Cain Velasquez. The grand prize winner gets a signed shirt, as well as a care package with more free swag (hats, etc.).

What do you have to do to win?

It’s simple: Just provide your fight prediction for Cain’s upcoming bout against Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 next weekend (ex. Cain defeats Rothwell via TKO in round 3 at 2:48; or Rothwell defeats Cain via KO in round 1 at 1:58).

So it’s winner, round, method and time. One entry per reader … so make it count! If you pick a decision be sure to include the official time, as well as guess the potential scores for each round (10-9, 10-9, 8-10, etc.)

Use our contact form to submit your answers. To enter CLICK HERE. Do NOT leave entries/predictions in the comments section below.

Be sure to submit correct contact information so we can contact you when you win — good luck!

Props: Pro MMA Radio

Quoteworthy:

“He’s a normal person, just like me. Whatever he’s willing to do to me, you know, I’m willing to do the same to him. [I plan on] controlling him on the feet, making openings, taking him down. Just beating him up real bad, and picking my shots and really exploding on him; Letting him know that there is nothing that he can do to me.”

UFC heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez talks about his upcoming fight with former IFL champion Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 from the Staples Center this Saturday, Oct. 24. Velasquez is coming off of a unanimous decision victory over Cheick Kongo at UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany. However, the victory was a disappointment to Velasquez, who took more punishment than he and his coaches had in mind. The fight with Rothwell will be his seventh professional fight. Can the AKA standout push his record to 7-0? Or will he face “Big” problems on Saturday night?

Just days before his UFC 104 bout against fellow heavyweight contender “Big” Ben Rothwell, blue-chip prospect Cain Velasquez will join us tonight at 9 p.m. ET on MMAmania.com’s exclusive presentation of Pro MMA Radio.

Also on tap for the big brouhaha on October 24 is Antoni Hardonk, who stops by the show to dish the dirt on everything from his loss to Cheick Kongo to not believing the “Hype” of upcoming opponent Pat Barry.

Hosted by Larry Pepe, Pro MMA Radio is professional, guest-driven program that features some of mixed martial arts biggest names.

If you’re looking for a radio show that revolves around a couple of MMA fans ranting and raving about everything that’s already been covered ad nauseam, then Pro MMA Radio probably isn’t for you.

However, if you want to hear from actual fighters and industry insiders answering questions that are relevant to the current MMA scene, tune in every Monday night at 9 p.m. ET for our exclusive live feed.

See you tonight at 9 p.m. ET!

We’re back again, giving away more free gear as yet another major mixed martial arts event approaches.

MMAmania.com is proud to announce a UFC 104 contest give-a-way that will run from Sunday, Oct. 18, to Saturday, Oct. 24.

We will once again award several readers who enter the contest with Dethrone Royalty walkout t-shirts of surging heavyweight contender, Cain Velasquez. The grand prize winner gets a signed shirt, as well as a care package with more free swag (hats, etc.).

What do you have to do to win?

It’s simple: Just provide your fight prediction for Cain’s upcoming bout against Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 next weekend (ex. Cain defeats Rothwell via TKO in round 3 at 2:48; or Rothwell defeats Cain via KO in round 1 at 1:58).

So it’s winner, round, method and time. One entry per reader … so make it count! If you pick a decision be sure to include the official time, as well as guess the potential scores for each round (10-9, 10-9, 8-10, etc.)

Use our contact form to submit your answers. To enter CLICK HERE. Do NOT leave entries/predictions in the comments section below.

Be sure to submit correct contact information so we can contact you when you win — good luck!

“Definitely me. I’m a proud Mexican fighter. Anybody who steps in that ring with me, it’s like fuck them, I’m gonna beat them. The guy’s gonna have to kill me. I think he’s an awesome fighter, he’s the best. It’s not like the movies or TV with the biggest and most muscular guy going out there and he’s the baddest guy, it’s not always like that. Like Cheick Kongo, I don’t look anything like him, but if you got the heart and the fighter spirit, that counts for a lot.”

So says UFC heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez, who chats with MMA Fanhouse while doing the rounds to promote his fight against Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 from the Staples Center on Oct. 24. While it’s widely believed the “Last Emporer” will never step foot inside the Las Vegas Octagon, it’s not unrealistic to think that if he did, there would be plenty of guys waiting to take a crack at dethroning him (assuming Brett Rogers doesn’t beat them to it on Nov. 7). Would Velasquez have a chance? Or would the Russian juggernaut be too much, too soon?

Check out what Velasquez has to say after the jump.