UFC president Dana White announced on Saturday that PRIDE and UFC veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-5-0) has withdrawn from his scheduled bout against Rich Franklin at UFC 133, scheduled for August 6, 2011, although a reason has not been made available. The light heavyweight pairings for the event have been riddled by injury thus far, with Phil Davis and Vladimir Matyushenko recent scratches as well; now the UFC is actively pursuing a replacement for Nogueira who suffered back to back losses for the first time in his career against wrestling stand-outs Ryan Bader and Phil Davis, in September of 2010 and March of this year respectively.At 35 years of age, Nogueira is 2-2 inside the octagon and had compiled seven consecutive victories before the recent skid; a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black-belt and skilled boxer, "Minotoro" made his professional debut ten years ago next month and has been a top-contender at 205lbs ever since. No stranger to success himself, Rich Franklin (28-6-0) is a former middleweight champion who most recently re-invented himself as a light heavyweight after competing in two catch-weight fights against Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort. Since his return to the division, Franklin is 1-1 with a knockout victory over Chuck Liddell, and a unanimous decision loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 126 - Belfort vs. Silva in February.
UFC 133 will go down August 6, 2011, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is headlined by a light heavyweight contest pitting former champions Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz against each other; the two battled to a unanimous draw at UFC 73 in July of 2007.
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