So now we know that Big Nog will face Fabricio Werdum for his first title defense. Well guess what, Nogueira defeated Fabricio Werdum once before only two years ago over in Pride FC. My guess is Nogueira won?t have too much trouble doing that again. After that, who challenges Big Nog for the title? During the Joe Rogan session after the fight, Nogueira stated that he indeed wants Randy Couture (who doesn?t?) to come back and face him. Well that?s just great, but it?s not happening. Nor will our old friend Fedor Emelianenko be stepping into the octagon any time soon either. Though Andrei Arlovski might have a decent chance at beating Nogueira, his last fight in the organization is with someone not nearly as talented as Minotauro.

There is also the possibility that if Frank Mir manages to keep winning, he will get a shot at reclaiming the heavy-weight title and face Nogueira some time in the future. But to make a long story short, I don?t see that match going Mir?s way at all. Mir?s jiu jitsu is fierce, but Nogueira?s is even better, and he is just an overall better fighter. Then there?s Tim Sylvia. A rematch with Nogueira could just as easily go in Sylvia?s favor the second time around, but it will be a while before that match can happen again. Fresh blood is important, the organization needs to shake things up and keep old flames like Sylvia on the back burner for just a little while.

Since the names mentioned above are probably the only few out there capable of defeating Nogueira, odds are the Brazilian will reign over the UFC heavy-weight throne for a long, long time. Many of you might be thinking ?couldn?t Lesnar defeat Nogueira or Sylvia if given the chance?? With hard training, it is entirely possible. But like I said it should be a little while before Lesnar gets a shot at the big players in the HW division, so lets save that for another time when it?s at least within our sights.

Article By: Primetyme199