Minotauro vs. Velasquez, Evans vs. Silva confirmed for UFC 108

The UFC has officially announced the UFC 108 headliner between undefeated contender Cain Velasquez and former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, with the winner getting a shot at the title. That’s a huge buzz drop considering both middleweight champion Anderson Silva and challenger Vitor Belfort and heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar and contender Shane Carwin were each slated for the card at one time or another until injury (Silva) and illness (Lesnar) scuttled the plans.

Co-headlining the main event is a light heavyweight bout between former champ Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva, which is also a certain degree of buzz kill considering the current season of The Ultimate Fighter was supposed to be building toward an Evans vs. Quitnon “Rampage” Jackson showdown. Of course, we all know what happened there (if you don’t, where have you been?).

So here’s how the UFC 108 card stacks up (although only the first two fights have been confirmed):

* Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
* Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva
* Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga*
* Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley*
* Tyson Griffin vs. Jim Miller*
* Martin Kampmann vs. Rory Markham*
* Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout*
* Dan Lauzon vs. Cole Miller*
* Ryan Jensen vs. Mark Munoz*
* Jake Ellenberger vs. Mike Pyle*