Lil’ Nog injured again, out of UFC Sao Paulo bout vs. Trevor Smith

Light heavyweight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was forced out of the UFC Sao Paulo card in November.

Light heavyweight veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira won’t be competing in Sao Paulo in November anymore. Per Combate, the 43-year-old was forced out of his bout against Trevor Smith due to a back injury, while ‘Hot Sauce’ was moved to UFC Washington, in December, to take on Alonzo Menifield.

In a career riddle with injuries, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (23-9) would have fought twice in the same year ever since 2016, if it wasn’t for the injury. In his last outing, ‘Lil’ Nog’ was knocked in the first round by Ryan Spann, back in May. Before the loss, he Brazilian scored a TKO win over Sam Alvey in September 2018.

Currently on a two-fight skid, Trevor Smith (15-9) dropped unanimous decision losses to Elias Theodorou and most recently Zak Cummings in December. The 38-year-old’s last win happened in May 2017, when he bested Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision.

Now Smith’s new opponent, Alonzo Menifield (9-0) for his third straight UFC win after knocking out Vinicius Moreira and Paul Craig in his last two outings.

UFC Fight Night 164 is expected to take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on November 16. The card is set to be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Jan Blachowicz and former middleweight contender Ronaldo Souza.

Trevor Smith is now expected to meet Alonzo Menifield at UFC on ESPN 7, in Washington, D.C., on December 7. Alistair Overeem is expected to face Walt Harris on the night’s main event.