Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to Debut at UFC 73

[Rappy Veteran]

What is shaping up to be one of the best fight cards in UFC history may have just gotten a whole lot better.

Famed PRIDE standout Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (29-4-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), better known as ?Big Nog,? will make his Octagon debut at UFC 73, according to the latest rumor posted by MMAWeekly.com.

UFC 73 takes place July 7 ? most likely in Sacramento, Calif. The event is already expected to feature title fights of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. Nate Marquardt, and UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk vs. Hermes Franca. A much-anticipated light-heavyweight bout between Rashad Evans and former champ Tito Ortiz will also take place at the event.

Nogueira?s opponent is not yet known, though rumors of a Nogueira vs. Brandon Vera bout have been swirling for weeks. (Then again, it might just be wishful thinking.)

Nogueira, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert, has posted marquee wins over Mirko ?Cro Cop? Filipovic, Josh Barnett, Dan Henderson, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring and Jeremy Horn, among many other notables since he began MMA fighting in 1999. The official announcement of his deal with the UFC was announced earlier this month at UFC 69 in Houston.

Awesome stuff!:D#33;! :D

[Zoom7000]

Well, now that UFC own PRIDE, you just know that slowly but surely, Zuffa are gonna bleed out the big talent and shift them to the UFC. Good for UFC, bad for PRIDE I guess.

[LRoling]

How is it bad? UFC will just go worldwide and consolidate the two organizations eventually. The only difference is that they will probably have PRIDE become UFC International or something and sponser events overseas to keep the talent going in the overseas market.

[Googintosh]

It is bad if you enjoyed the PRIDE rule set, because they have already been made to adopt the same rules as the UFC. This is not just for PRIDE USA, but fights in Japan as well.

The Axe Murderer's soccer kicks, ShoGun Rua's crazy flying stomps, knees to the head in the north-south position, all a thing of the past.

[LRoling]

Wanderlei isn't even known for the soccer kicks, his knees are his main weapon and you can still knee like crazy in the UFC, just not on the ground, but you can in side control. He shouldn't be affected much by a rule change considering he used to fight under UFC rules. Shogun will be affected. And watching him fight almost seems like he's cheap. I love how he randomly kicks people out of the ring. I'm glad to see he will have to learn to not stomp people out on the ground. He's a beast of a fighter, don't get me wrong, I'd like to see him fight more without the stomping.