Bader Takes Down, Dominates Nogueira
Ryan Bader and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. have previously met once before, back at UFC 119 in Sept. 2010, with Bader taking the win in that bout via unanimous decision. Nogueira was supposed to face Alexander Gustafsson on this night, but Gustafsson pulled from the bout on Sept. 30 due to injury, so a re-match between the two was set up.
This time, Bader finished off Nogueira in the third round via TKO.
After a few solid strikes from Nogueira in the opening minute, Bader got a takedown in on the Brazilian legend. He then proceeded to land several shots in on the head of Nogueira. Whenever Nogueira managed to get back to his feet, Bader would just take him back down to the ground.
Bader continued this process through the second and third rounds, scoring a number of takedowns within 13 minutes of action inside the Octagon. Finally, after one barrage of strikes, the referee had seen enough and stepped in.
With 15 wins, Bader now has the second-highest number of wins in UFC light heavyweight history. He has one less than the leader, former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. However, this was the last bout on Bader’s UFC contract, and it is unknown if he will re-sign with the promotion or jump ship to somewhere like Bellator.
UFC Fight Night: Sao Paulo main card results (Fox Sports 1, 9 p.m.):
Ryan Bader def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via TKO (R3, 3:51)
Thomas Almeida def. Albert Morales via TKO (R2, 1:37)
Claudia Gadelha def. Cortney Casey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Krzysztof Jotko def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Kamaru Usman def. Warlley Alves via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 29-28)
Sergio Moraes def. Zak Ottow via split decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29)
UFC Fight Night: Sao Paulo preliminary card results (Fox Sports 1, 7 p.m.):
Cezar Ferreira def. Jack Hermansson via submission (arm-triangle choke) (R2, 2:11)
Gadzhimurad Antigulov def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via submission (guillotine choke) (R1, 1:07)
Johnny Eduardo def. Manny Gamburyan via TKO (R2, 0:46)
Luis Henrique def. Christian Colombo via submission (guillotine choke) (R3, 2:12)
UFC Fight Night: Sao Paulo preliminary card results (UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m.):
Pedro Munhoz def. Justin Scoggins via submission (guillotine choke) (R2, 1:55)
Darren Stewart def. Francimar Barroso via TKO (R1, 1:34)