UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi: Event Results

Main Card:

Roy Nelson def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira KO Round 1
Clay Guida def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via unanimous decision
Ryan LaFlare def. John Howard via unanimous decision
Ramsey Nijem def. Beneil Dariush via TKO (strikes) Round 1

Preliminary Card:

Jared Rosholt def. Daniel Omielanczuk via unanimous decision
Thales Leites def. Trevor Smith via first-round TKO
Jim Alers def. Alan Omer via split decision
Johny Bedford vs. Rani Yahya no-contest (accidental head-butt) Round 1

UFC Abu Dhabi: Headlined by Nogueira vs. Nelson

On April 11th the UFC will be heading to Abu Dhabi for the second time in its 20 year existence.  It has been made official that the UFC will have heavyweights Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira and Roy Nelson square off as the headlining fight for UFC Fight Night 39.

Both men are coming off of losses in their most recent outings in the UFC.  Roy Nelson most recently lost to rising contender Stipe Miocic amd Nogueira most recently lost to longtime heavyweight standout Fabricio Werdum.  This is a fight between two big names in the UFC's Heavyweight Division. This fight could've been a big deal a few years ago, but isn't really appealing at this stage of their careers. Nogueira isnt going to be fighting for a place in the rankings and is simply fighting out the rest of his contract.  Nelson can still earn a title shot, but this won't be a fight that will catapult him back to the top; it will simply put another W on his record.  It's an interesting fight between to high level grapplers with good boxing.

Antonio 'Minotauro' Nogueira Only Has a Few Fights Left in MMA

Former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion and former Pride Heavyweight Champion, Antonio 'Minotauro' Nogueira  only has three fights left on his current UFC contract and anticipates his retirement will occur within the next two or three years.  Right now Nogueira doesn't have an opponent set for his next fight.  His last fight was a loss to fellow heavyweight submission expert, Fabricio Werdum in June of 2013.

'Minotauro' is one of the sport's pioneers and like many of the pioneers, he is coming to the point in which he needs to hang up the gloves.  I am glad that Nogueira is getting out of the sport shortly and not trying to hold on too long especially considering he will not be fighting for the title ever again.  Chuck Liddell was a great warrior who stuck around too long and it slightly took away from his legacy by getting knocked out by Rashad Evans, Mauricio Rua and Rich Franklin consecutively.  It is good that Nogueira is smart enough to know that he is on the downside and is smart to get out without tarnishing his legacy with even more losses.