Antonio Nogueira Will Fight Dave Herman at UFC 153, Say Reports

According to mmafighting.com, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will step in the rapidly dissolving UFC 153 card in Brazil to battle fellow heavyweight Dave Herman.

MMAfighting.com is following a lead from Guilherme Cruz, a reporter from tatame.com, who reported the following on Twitter:

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Minotauro Nogueira vs. Dave Herman on for UFC 153, in Rio. Thoughts?

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Nogueira, who has not fought since UFC 140 due to a broken arm suffered at the hands of Frank Mir, would be fighting for the first time since UFC 134, where he handily knocked out challenger Brendan Schaub.

Nogueira was tapped to return at UFC 149 in Calgary against Cheick Kongo, but pulled out as he was not completely healed from his devastating injury. Now, it appears that he may be ready for action.

As for Herman, he is currently riding a two-fight losing streak after opening his UFC career with a win over John-Olav Einemo. He was knocked out in bouts against Stefan Struve and Roy Nelson, the latter being his latest bout at UFC 146.

This will be an important fight for both men. For Herman, a loss would mean his job. For Nogueira, it would mean a possible retirement, or at least a pondering of it.

While it is still not confirmed what the main and co-main events will be, a rumor surfaced today that the  headliner could be between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva.

If that is the case, the pay-per-view may be saved and UFC 153 could still be a very marketable pay-per-view.