Nogueira vs. Brilz
One of the featured bouts of UFC 114 is a light heavyweight contests between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Jason Brilz.
Bet UFC 114
This fight was originally scheduled to be Nogueira vs. Forrest Griffin, but an injury to Griffin forced him out and brought Brilz into the picture. Given the circumstances, Nogueira enters the fight as the clear favorite with a betting line of -627 with Brilz given a money line of +437 according to online sports book SPORTSBETTING.com. Here is a closer look at both fighters heading into this main event bout, which will take place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, beginning at 10PM ET live on pay-per-view.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3):
Strengths: Unlike his brother, Rodrigo Nogueira, Rogerio is a tremendous striker that has stopped many of the world’s top fighters. In his UFC debut against Luis Cane, at UFC 106, Nogueira quickly finished him with overwhelming strikes that Cane had no answer for. Nogueira is also strong with his jiu-jitsu, like his brother. Nog also trains with a tremendous team in Team Blackhouse, which features his brother, Anderson Silva, and Lyoto Machida.
Weaknesses: It’s hard to say that Rogerio has a defined weakness as he is essentially a similar version to his brother with better striking. Rogerio has taken one KO loss in his career, and two decision losses are to strong opponents like Mauricio Rua. The only thing that could go wrong in this fight for Nogueira is that he prepared for Griffin and now has to change his preparation for Brilz, but he should be able to overcome that.
Last Five Fights:
First round TKO win over Luis Cane at UFC 106 on Nov. 21, 2009
Third Round submission win over Dion Staring at JF 13 on May 9, 2009
Second round KO win over Vladimir Matyushenko at Affliction 2 on Jan. 24, 2009
Unanimous decision win over Moise Rimbon at Sengoku – Sixth Battle on Nov. 1, 2008
First round TKO win over Edwin Dewees at Affliction 1 on July 19, 2008
Jason Brilz (18-2-1):
Strengths: A big grinder, Brilz has a solid all-around base to his fighting style as he has five KO wins and nine submission wins in his career while getting stopped just once. Brilz likes to push the pace and finish fights, which should mix well with Nogueira’s style. This fight is the biggest fight in Brilz’ career, so he will come in motivated and ready to give it his all.
Weaknesses: Brilz has never really faced someone to the caliber of Rogerio, so he could be easily overwhelmed. He is going to have to be smart on his feet and if he gets the fight to the ground, he will have to maintain composure and not get caught in a submission. Conditioning could be a factor for Brilz as well as he takes the fight on short notice.
Last Five Fights:
Unanimous decision win over Eric Schafer at UFC on Versus 1 on March 21, 2010
Split decision loss to Eliot Marshall at UFC 103 on Spet. 19, 2009
Unanimous decision win over Tim Boetsch at UFC 96 on March 7, 2009
Second round TKO win over Brad Morris at UFC Fight Night 15 on Sept. 17, 2008
First round submission win over Erik Jenks at EB Beadown on May 10, 2008
Who will win: I think Brilz will bring the fight to Nogueira and even make things interesting in the early minutes but as time moves on, Nogueira should be able to use his experience and better skills to get the fight in his favor and ultimately stop Brilz in the late first or early second round by TKO.
Bet UFC 114
Posted: 5/28/10 5:01PM ET