Report: ‘Minotoro’ Nogueira Out of UFC 161 Bout With Rua; UFC Seeks Replacement

The Brazilian website Globo.com first broke the news, and several outlets have since confirmed Nogueira’s withdrawal from the June 15 event. UFC officials are reportedly searching for a replacement opponent for Rua.

UFC 161 takes place at the MTS Center in Winnipeg, Canada on June 15 and is headlined by a light heavyweight confrontation between Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson. Nogueira’s ailment is the second significant injury to affect the card -- Renan Barao withdraw from an interim bantanweight title defense against Eddie Wineland last month. As a result of Barao’s injury, the promotion added a heavyweight bout between Roy Nelson and Stipe Miocic to the main bill.

Rua and Nogueira first crossed paths in the Pride Fighting Championships on June 26, 2005, with “Shogun” earning a unanimous decision triumph. Rua competed twice in 2012, earning a fourth-round TKO over Brandon Vera at UFC on Fox 4 before dropping a unanimous decision against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on Fox 5.

“Minotoro” returned to the Octagon for the first time in more than a year at UFC 156, where he scored a surprising three-round verdict over Evans in a largely uneventful affair. Nogueira also owns wins over Tito Ortiz, Jason Briz and Luiz Cane during his UFC tenure.