Latest Injury A UFC Title Shot Killer for Minotauro Nogueira

Just a year ago, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Randy Couture in what was hailed as one of the best non-title UFC matches of 2009.

But a lot can change in 12 months and one of the sport's most popular personalities is now out for four to six months due to hip and knee surgery, causing the the UFC to drop him from the main event rematch of UFC 119 against Frank Mir.

Fellow PRIDE alum Mirko Cro Cop will take his place in his highest profile UFC bout to date.

When the injuries are coupled with his one-sided loss to No. 1 contender Cain Velasquez back in February, Nogueira's viability as a top contender in the UFC's biggest division has to be called into question.

He simply can't stay healthy long enough at this stage of the game to be a major player in the UFC, something that we knew was going to happen sooner than later.

While just 34 years old, the competition age for "Big Nog" is much, much older. A veteran of 40 fights spanning over 10 years, Nogueira hasn't just been through three-round brawls; he's been through absolute wars.

Doubtful? Just watch some of his PRIDE battles against Cro Cop, Dan Henderson, or Fedor Emelianenko just to name a few. He was fighting four to five times a year in an organization that allowed stomps, knees to the head of a grounded opponent, and generally more brutality than seen in today's North American-based model.

Like any athlete, that eventually takes a toll and Nogueira is showing the mileage from years and years of being on the road.  

This isn't the first time he has had fights delayed or canceled due to injury. A staph infection in late-2009 resulted in his bout with Velasquez to be pushed from UFC 108 to UFC 110 in late-February.

He also had a staph infection that hospitalized him prior to his UFC 92 battering at the hands of Mir, made public after the fight. Did I mention knee surgery in early-2009 as well? Credit Nogueira with gutting it out but history is becoming hard to ignore. He's becoming more and more unreliable as time ravages his warrior body.

Since coming to the UFC, Nogueira's pace has slowed considerably with just five total fights (3-2) in the last four years. While the win over Couture was impressive, will it simply be the last stand in what's been a Hall of Fame career?

Sure, he may return in 2011, but at that point, what's his relevance in the upper tier of the heavyweight division? With Brock Lesnar leading a group that includes Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Shane Carwin, and veterans like Mir, Cro Cop and Roy Nelson hanging around, the injuries and inconsistency for the former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champ has put a damper on his future prospects.

A Cro Cop/Nog match may do some business and perhaps the rematch with Mir will happen at some point. But unless something drastic happens, this latest injury has taken Minotauro out of the title picture, probably for good.

Josh Nason is a freelance MMA journalist that has contributed to FIGHT! Magazine, Apollo Magazine and Bleacher Report, appearing regularly on The Fight Show with Mauro Ranallo and Rubber Guard Radio. Follow him on Twitter, will ya?