Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Light heavyweights battle in Stockholm
The UFC has been quickly filling up its dance card for its debut in Sweden, and on Tuesday the promotion announced the card’s main event.
Swedish light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson will look to continue his rise in the division when he meets Antonio Rogerio Nogueira to headline the April 14 card in Stockholm. The UFC announced the main event Tuesday while officially announcing the event, which will be broadcast on Fuel TV. The fight will be a three-round bout.
“Sweden has been on our radar for a long time and on April 14, we’re excited to finally bring the UFC to Stockholm,” UFC president Dana White said in a statement. “We’re putting together a great card for the Swedish fans.”
Gustafsson (13-1, 5-1 UFC) is fresh off a dominant first-round TKO win over Vladimir Matyushenko less than two weeks ago at UFC 141. The 6-foot-5-inch 24-year-old has drawn comparisons to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and many believe Gustafsson is only a couple of wins away from a possible title shot. He has finished all five of his UFC wins, including a TKO of Matt Hamill and rear naked choke submissions of James Te-Huna and Cyrille Diabate. His only loss came to 205-pound contender Phil Davis at UFC 112, a first-round anacdona choke, which remains his only career setback.
Nogueira (20-5, 3-2 UFC) got back in the win column a month ago with a TKO victory over Tito Ortiz at UFC 140 in Toronto. That win snapped a two-fight skid for “Lil’ Nog” that saw him lose unanimous decisions to Davis and Ryan Bader. Prior to that, Nogueira won a controversial split decision over Jason Brilz at UFC 114 and scored a TKO in his UFC debut against Luiz Cane. The former Pride star boasts two wins over top heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem and a submission of Dan Henderson on his record.
Tickets for UFC Sweden, which takes place at the 12,000-seat Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, go on sale to UFC Fight Club members Wednesday at 11 a.m. in Sweden. UFC Newsletter subscribers can purchase tickets Thursday, and the general public can purchase tickets Friday at globearenas.se and ticnet.se. Tickets will be priced between 450 Swedish Krona ($65) and 1990 Krona ($288).