Murilo "Ninja" Rua will replace Antonio Rogerio "Minotouro" Nogueira against Alex Stiebling at Bitetti Combat on Sept. 12 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Fighters.com was first to report of the matchup and FanHouse has confirmed the switch with a source close to Bitetti Combat. FanHouse has also learned that the official word of Nogueira's removal from the card is not due to his discussions with the UFC, but because of a foot injury that will not heal in time for the fight.
Stiebling (18-10-1), a PRIDE and WEC veteran who first competed MMA in April 1999, remains on the card but misses out on a chance to avenge a loss to Nogueira from a Gladiator FC event in June 2004. Stiebling last fought in a losing effort against Moise Rimbon at Bodog Fight in February 2007 and will be coming out of what he's referring to as "semi-retirement."
"Ninja" Rua (16-10-1), the older brother of UFC light heavyweight title contender "Shogun," will be looking to snap a two-fight losing streak compiled at EliteXC and DREAM events. In June 2007, Rua stopped Joey Villasenor to be crowned the first-ever EliteXC middleweight champion.
Bitetti Combat is also scheduled to feature Ricardo Arona vs. Marvin Eastman, Paulo Filho vs. Alex Schoenauer and Pedro Rizzo vs. Jeff Monson.
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