Mir-Nogueira Rematch, 2 Other Bouts Official for UFC 119

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira file photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Former heavyweight champions Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir will meet again at UFC 119 “Mir vs. Nogueira 2” on Sept. 25 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., the promotion announced on Monday.

The promotion also made official a light heavyweight bout between Nogueira’s twin brother, Antonio Rogerio, and Ryan Bader and Indianapolis native Chris Lytle against former 170-pound champion Matt Serra in a welterweight bout.

Former Pride Fighting Championships and UFC interim champion Nogueira meets Mir in his 41st career bout. The 31-year-old Mir scored a second-round technical knockout over Nogueira at UFC 92 in December 2008. Both are coming back from losses: Mir fought for the interim championship against Shane Carwin at UFC 111 in March but succumbed to punches in the first round, while Nogueira was stopped with first-round strikes by No. 1 prospect Cain Velasquez at UFC 110 last February in Sydney, Australia.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira earned a split decision victory over late replacement Jason Brilz at UFC 114 last May in Las Vegas. The 33-year-old Pride veteran made an impressive Octagon debut at UFC 106 last November in Las Vegas, boxing out a first-round stoppage against Luis Arthur Cane.

The undefeated Bader, a two-time Div. I All-American wrestler, scored a third-round knockout against Keith Jardine at UFC 110 last February in Sydney, Australia. Bader, who turned 27 in June, won “The Ultimate Fighter 7” in December 2008 and has reeled off three Octagon victories since then.

The 36-year-old Serra eked out a split decision victory over Lytle at “The Ultimate Fighter 4” Finale in November 2006. The Long Island-raised Renzo Gracie black belt went on to capture the UFC welterweight championship with a shocking first-round knockout over Georges St. Pierre at UFC 69 in April 2007. Most recently, Serra stopped Frank Trigg with first-round punches at UFC 109 last February in Las Vegas.

A firefighter by day, Lytle has notched three straight Octagon victories over Kevin Burns, Brian Foster, and Matt Brown, who Lytle verbally submitted with an arm-triangle choke at UFC 116 on July 3 in Las Vegas. Lytle’s appearances have netted him a whopping seven performance bonuses from the promotion.