Heavyweight contenders Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez were to meet in the card’s main event, which was announced just last week, but Nogueira was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a severe staph infection in his left elbow, the same injury suffered prior to his matchup with Frank Mir at UFC 92 last December.

Following initial treatment in his native Brazil, Nogueria is currently receiving medical care in San Diego and will require treatment for at least three weeks.

With Nogueira sidelined, Velasquez is not expected to fight at UFC 108 and may instead take on Shane Carwin in February or March with an interim title potentially on the line as title-holder Brock Lesnar is out indefinitely with an undisclosed illness.

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Pictured: Rashad Evans

The UFC also confirmed that Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva will co-headline the pay-per-view event.

“Nogueira vs. Velasquez is a great matchup between the present and the future of the heavyweight division,” said UFC President Dana White in a press release announcing the card. “Nogueira showed in the Couture fight that he still has plenty left to offer at the top level of the game, and Velasquez was devastating in his win over Ben Rothwell, so with both guys in top form, we’re definitely going to see a number one contender emerge from this fight to take on the winner of the Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin title fight.”

Tickets for the event, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, are priced between $50 and $600 and go on sale to the general public this Saturday, November 14 through Ticketmaster.com.

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Velasquez (7-0) improved his UFC record to 5-0 with a second-round knockout of Ben Rothwell last month at UFC 104.

Nogueira (32-5-1), who had been expected to fight the winner of Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin before the fight was postponed from UFC 106 to early next year, rebounded from a disappointing loss to Frank Mir with an impressive decision win over Randy Couture in August.

The winner of Velasquez-Nogueira is likely to challenge the Lesnar-Carwin winner for the heavyweight title in mid-2010.

UFC 108 also includes Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva, Junior dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, and Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley, but the traditional blockbuster event is unlikely to feature a championship main event.

For the latest UFC 108 rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.

Pictured: Cain Velasquez

Nogueira (32-5-1), a former PRIDE champion and recent interim UFC title-holder,was dominated by Frank Mir in their December meeting, but “Minotauro” bounced back strong with an impressive performance against Couture, winning by unanimous decision in the “Fight of the Night” at UFC 102.

Lesnar (4-1), the UFC’s current heavyweight champion, won the title with a victory over Randy Couture last November, then defended the belt against Frank Mir at UFC 100 in July. Carwin (11-0) earned his title shot with three-straight wins inside the Octagon, including a 69-second knockout of Gabriel Gonzaga in March.

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“If I was making excuses, I would have been making excuses right after the fight. I’m not making excuses, I’m giving you a reason,” Nogueira recently told MMA Weekly. “If Mir feels it’s an excuse, then lets get in the Octagon and see whether it’s an excuse or a reason in December and settle it. I’d love to fight Frank Mir at UFC 107.”

Nogueira previously had his sights set on a title shot against Brock Lesnar, but Mir has been vocal in accusing Nogueira and others of making excuses for Nogueira’s December 2008 loss to Mir rather than giving Mir credit for the victory.

A Nougiera-Mir rematch could bolster the UFC 107 lineup, which lost a matchup between TUF 10 coaches Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans on Friday after Jackson accepted a role in the upcoming “A-Team” movie that will postpone the fight until early-2010.

The pay-per-view event is headlined by lightweight champ BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez, but has not yet been officially announced, providing the UFC an opportunity to book the rematch between Nogueira and Mir.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest UFC 107 news and UFC 107 rumors.

Pictured: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

The longest suspension was dolled out to Portland-native Ed Herman, who is sidelined indefinitely from a fight-ending knee injury suffered early in the second round of his middleweight preliminary matchup with Aaron Simpson.

Headliners Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Randy Couture were both issued 30 day precautionary suspensions following their three-round war in the UFC 102 main event that saw Nogueira capture a unanimous decision win.

Only two other fighters were issued medical suspensions lasting more than 30 days, as a laceration will put Chris Tuchscherer out of action for 45 days, while Tim Hague must sit out 60 days following his 7-second knockout loss to Todd Duffee.

In addition to the suspensions listed below, all UFC 102 competitors were issued 7-day mandatory minimum suspensions.

The complete list of UFC 102 medical suspensions includes:

• Randy Couture – Suspended for 30 days
• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – Suspended for 30 days
• Keith Jardine – Suspended for 30 days
• Chris Leben – Suspended for 30 days and must undergo CT scan for possible facial fractures
• Demian Maia – Suspended for 21 days
• Krzysztof Soszynski – Suspended for 30 days due to laceration
• Ed Herman – Suspended indefinitely for injury to left knee and must be cleared by doctor to return
• Chris Tuchscherer – Suspended for 45 days due laceration
• Justin McCully – Suspended for 30 days for possible left eye injury
• Tim Hague – Suspended for 60 days
• Mark Munoz – Suspended for 30 days for right elbow sprain
• Marcus Aurelio – Suspended for 14 days

Note: Where no injury is specified, medical suspensions are for precautionary reasons.

Pictured: Ed Herman

Nougiera, who defeated Couture by unanimous decision in the evening’s main event, earned $400,000 for the victory, while Couture received $250,000 in the loss.

The disclosed payroll for the pay-per-view event was $1,285,000.

The disclosed fighter salaries for UFC 102 were:

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ($400,000 – includes $150,000 bonus) def. Randy Couture ($250,000)
• Thiago Silva ($58,000 – $29,000 win bonus) def. Keith Jardine ($55,000)
• Jake Rosholt ($26,000 – $13,000 win bonus) def. Chris Leben ($30,000)
• Nate Marquardt ($80,000 – $40,000 win bonus) def. Demian Maia ($28,000)
• Brandon Vera ($70,0000 – $35,000 win bonus) def. Krzysztof Soszynski ($8,000)
• Aaron Simpson ($18,000 – $9,000 win bonus) def. Ed Herman ($24,000)
• Gabriel Gonzaga ($120,000 – $60,000 win bonus) def. Chris Tuchscherer ($10,000)
• Mike Russow ($20,000 – $10,000 win bonus) def. Justin McCully ($15,000)
• Todd Duffee ($10,000 – $5,000 win bonus) def. Tim Hague ($7,000)
• Mark Munoz ($24,000 – $12,000 win bonus) def. Nick Catone ($5,000)
• Evan Dunham ($14,000 – $7,000 win bonus) def. Marcus Aurelio ($13,000)

Remember, the salaries listed above are simply the figures the UFC is required to report to the OSAC, which exclude deductions for items such as taxes, licenses, and insurance, as well as additional payments, such as sponsorships, bonuses, and pay-per-view revenue.

For example, Nogueira and Couture, along with main card winners Nate Marquardt and Jake Rosholt, each took home an extra $60,000 “fight night” bonus for their performances on the card.

For more UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira coverage check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC 102 section.

Pictured: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

UFC 102 headliners and heavyweight legends, Nogueira and Couture were awarded “Fight of the Night” honors for their three-round war that capped off the pay-per-view event.

Marquardt beat out Thiago Silva’s 95-second KO of Keith Jardine and Todd Duffee’s record-setting 7-second knockout of Tim Hague to win “Knockout of the Night” for UFC 102, as he scored a one-punch KO of fellow middleweight contender Demian Maia in just 21-seconds.

“Submission of the Night” went to Jake Rosholt, who earned his first UFC win with a third-round arm-triangle submission of Chris Leben that put Leben out cold.

UFC 102 fell short of a sellout, but still drew an impressive 16,088 attendees for a $1.92 million live gate.

Click here for more UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira coverage.

Pictured: Nate Marquardt

The pair went to war for the duration of the three-round bout, mixing it up on the feet with crisp striking that saw both legendary heavyweights connect with numerous combinations, while also showing off world class grappling when the fight hit the ground.

Nogueira proved to be too much for Couture on this night, as he was dropped to the canvas in the first and third rounds, and nearly submitted in both the first and second. “The Natural” fought through the chokes and survived the knockdowns to go the distance, but was unable to secure the finish he desperately needed to win the fight.

The judges awarded Nogueira a unanimous decision victory with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 in what is certain to be the event’s “Fight of the Night”.

With the win, Nogueira improves to 32-5-1 and remains in the heavyweight title-hunt, while Couture falls to 16-10 in defeat and has now lost two-straight.

In the UFC 102 co-headliner, Thiago Silva bounced back from the first loss of his career earlier this year to Lyoto Machida with a first-round knockout of Keith Jardine. Silva, now 14-1 following the win, remains on the long list on contenders at 205-pounds, while Jardine drops to 14-6-1 and looks for answers after losing his second-straight and fourth in his last six fights.

Nate Marquardt needed just 21-seconds to knockout jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia in a battle of middleweight contenders on the UFC 102 main card, then promptly called out 185-pound champ Anderson Silva, though he’ll likely need to go through fellow-contender Dan Henderson to earn the rematch.

In other main card action, Jake Rosholt submitted a returning Chris Leben in the third-round to earn the first win of his UFC career, while Brandon Vera again looked lackluster at 205-pounds in picking up a unanimous decision over Krzysztof Soszynski to kick off the pay-per-view.

The UFC 102 prelims were highlighted by Todd Duffee’s record-setting 7-second knockout of Tim Hague in his UFC debut, snapping the promotion’s previous mark of 8-seconds held by James Irvin over Houston Alexander in 2008.

Aaron Simpson logged an impressive opening round against Ed Herman on the preliminary card, before improving to 6-0 on his young-career after Herman was unable to continue early in the second after suffering a knee injury.

Gabriel Gonzaga’s impressive first-round TKO of newcomer Chris Tuchscherer was marred by a brutal kick to the groin that nearly stopped the contest. Tuchscherer managed to continue after the accidental foul but wasn’t the same fighter, as he was quickly downed a head kick from Gonzaga and finished on the ground midway through the first.

Mike Russow, Mark Munoz, and Evan Dunham all picked up decision victories in the remaining preliminary fights.

The official results for UFC 102 were:

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Randy Couture via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Thiago Silva def. Keith Jardine via KO (punches) — Round 1, 1:35
• Jake Rosholt def. Chris Leben via submission (arm-triangle) — Round 3, 1:30
• Nate Marquardt def. Demian Maia via KO (punch) — Round 1, 0:21
• Brandon Vera def. Krzysztof Soszynski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Aaron Simpson def. Ed Herman via TKO (injury) — Round 2, 0:17
• Gabriel Gonzaga def. Chris Tuchscherer via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 2:27
• Mike Russow def. Justin McCully via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
• Todd Duffee def. Tim Hague via KO (punch) — Round 1, 0:07
• Mark Munoz def. Nick Catone via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• Evan Dunham def. Marcus Aurelio via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)

Click here for more UFC 102 coverage, and stop by MMAFrenzy.com tomorrow for extensive post-UFC 102 coverage.

Pictured: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira