Minotauro Nogueira earns heavyweight title shot

Inside Fights has confirmed what has been rumoured for a few weeks now – Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira will contend for the UFC heavyweight title when he faces the winner of UFC 106’s Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin bout on November 21.

Nogueira (32-5-1), a former PRIDE champion and recent interim UFC title-holder,was dominated by Frank Mir in their December meeting, but Minotauro bounced back with an impressive performance against Randy Couture, winning by unanimous decision in the Fight of the Night at UFC 102.

Lesnar (4-1), the UFC’s current heavyweight champion, won the title with a victory over Couture last November, then defended the belt against Mir at UFC 100 in July. Carwin (11-0) earned his title shot with three-straight wins inside the Octagon, including a 69-second knockout of Gabriel Gonzaga in March.