Nogueira-Ortiz Tapped for UFC's Toronto Return

Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is on tap for UFC 140. | Photo: Sherdog.com

Nogueira and Ortiz were originally slated to square off at Fight Night 24 in March. However, Ortiz was forced to withdraw from the contest due to injury and was replaced by surging prospect Phil Davis.

Also featuring a pivotal heavyweight conflict between Frank Mir and Rogerio's twin brother Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, UFC 140 goes down Dec. 10 from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The event will also boast a pair of welterweight confrontations, as Rory MacDonald meets Brian Ebersole and Rich Attonito locks horns with Claude Patrick.

A former Pride Fighting Championships standout, Nogueira has seen a seven-fight winning streak snapped by back-to-back losses in his last two contests. The 35-year-old began his UFC career auspiciously, knocking out Luiz Cane before edging Jason Brilz in a split decision at UFC 106 and 114, respectively. However, Nogueira would falter in his next two outings, as he was outwrestled by Ryan Bader in September 2010 and Phil Davis in March, losing both contests by unanimous decision.

Ortiz won the UFC's light heavyweight championship in 2000 and defended it successfully five times before running into Randy Couture at UFC 44. In recent years, however, Ortiz has not looked the same, posting a 0-4-1 record in the Octagon from December 2006 to October 2010 before pulling off an upset against the heavily favored Bader at UFC 132.

Ortiz, 36, stepped up just one month later to face Rashad Evans when Davis withdrew from their UFC 133 main event. Evans stopped “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” in the second round by technical knockout.