UFC 140 Results: What a Loss Would Mean to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira finds himself on the verge of losing his third consecutive fight in the UFC. That is something that has never happened to the Brazilian light heavyweight.

So at UFC 140 his fight against Tito Ortiz is huge. It isn't like Nogueira has lost to bad opponents though. He lost to both Ryan Bader and Phil Davis by unanimous decision.

But at Nogueira's age a three fight losing streak could spell the end of his career. A three-fight losing streak could also knock him out of the UFC.

Fact is Nogueira is getting beat by the young guys in this ever changing sport. His last two fights have proven this.

Tonight though he gets a veteran and former UFC light heavyweight champion, Ortiz. This is a big fight both guys and especially big for Nogueira. Ortiz stopped his losing streak and avoided getting cut, now Nogueira has to do the same.

Nogueira has had a great career and especially when he fought in Pride. Unfortunately though that can only carry you so far.

Nogueira is 35 years old, so there isn't much time left for him to get into title contention. In fact he probably never will. But now he is fighting for pride and the clock is about to strike midnight on his UFC career.

Nobody wants to see a Pride legend walk away from the sport a loser—nobody does.  But eventually everybody gets to that age where they start to lose their ability. With a loss tonight that idea becomes even more prevalent with Nogueira.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis.