Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira avoids injury in UFC on FUEL TV 10 loss

FORTALEZA, BRAZIL – Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was a no-show at Saturday’s UFC on FUEL TV 10 post-fight press conference, but the veteran heavyweight avoided any serious injuries.

Nogueira (34-8-1 MMA, 5-4 UFC), who suffered a loss to Fabricio Werdum (17-5-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the event’s FUEL TV-televised headliner, submitted to a second-round armbar as he was trapped in an awkward position in the clash of Brazilian grappling standouts.

Nogueira was coming off a win over Dave Herman, but a bout prior, Frank Mir snapped his arm with a kimura. It was an ugly scene that was difficult for “Minotauro’s” fans to watch. This time around, though, the former champ avoided any serious injuries.

“Our champion @Minotauromma already did an X-ray, and thank God, did not fracture (his arm) and is already out of the hospital,” his coach, Luiz Dorea, tweeted in Portuguese earlier this morning.

Potential shoulder and arm injuries were both ruled out.

Although his late career has been plagued by injuries and extended layoffs, the 37-year-old MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) prior to the fight that he was focused on one final title run and not on retirement. But Nogueira, who’s ranked No. 11 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA heavyweight rankings, now faces a long road ahead. Junior dos Santos (No. 2) is already earmarked for a rubber match with reigning champion Cain Velasquez (No. 1), and in addition to Werdum (No. 5), fighters such as Roy Nelson (No. 7) and recent signee Josh Barnett (No. 6) are likely ahead of him in the pecking order.

For the latest on UFC on FUEL TV 10, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.