Rogerio Nogueira vs. Sam Alvey booked for UFC Sao Paulo in September

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has a date set for his return to the Octagon. “Minotouro”, 42, is slated to meet Sam Alvey in the upcoming Fight Night event at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept 22. MMA Fighting confirmed the news following a report by Combate.

Nogueira (22-8) hasn’t fought since Nov. 2016, when he suffered a third-round TKO loss to Ryan Bader in the same venue. “Minotouro” was slated to fight Jared Cannonier last December, but was removed from the fight after failing an out-of-competition drug test.

The longtime Brazilian veteran was recently given a reduced suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency when an investigation into two Brazilian pharmacies confirmed they were selling contaminated supplements that led to failed drug tests.

Alvey (33-10, 1 no-contest), 10 years younger than his opponent, is coming off back-to-back victories over Marcin Prachnio and Gian Villante since moving up to light heavyweight. “Smilin” went 8-5 at 185 pounds in the UFC, including wins over Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt, Alex Nicholson, Daniel Kelly and Cezar Ferreira.

The UFC has yet to announce which bout will headline the Fight Night event.