Little Nog out of UFC 161 fight vs. Shogun Rua

Published on Sunday, 6/2/13, at 7:40 p.m. Eastern.

By Brian Edwards

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has been forced to pull out of his UFC 161 fight versus Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua due to a back injury. The UFC is currently looking for a replacement to face Rua.

‘Little Nog’ and Shogun met in 2005 at PRIDE Critical Countdown. Rua won a unanimous decision in an epic battle that is considered to be one of the most exciting matches in mixed martial arts history.

Nogueira (21-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has won back-to-back fights over former UFC light heavyweight champs Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans.

Rua (21-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC) is coming off a loss against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on FOX 5. The former PRIDE champ has taken a brutal amount of punishment in recent defeats against Jon Jones and Dan Henderson.

One potential replacement for Little Nog could be Glover Teixeira, who didn’t suffer any damage in his UFC 160 win over James Te Huna by first-round submission last weekend in Las Vegas. Shogun reportedly balked at the notion of facing Teixeira last summer.