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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Evans (13-1-1), following 12-straight wins to begin his career over the likes of Michael Bisping and Chuck Liddell, won the UFC light heavyweight championship last December with a third-round knockout of Forrest Griffin. In his first title defense, Evans was knocked out by Lyoto Machida in May before appearing with “Rampage” as rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights.

“Thiago Silva is a good fighter, I’d like to fight him and I think he wants to fight me. When I saw him after he fought Keith Jardine, he kind of gave me a nasty look that I interpreted like he wanted to take me on, and I’d like that,” Evans told Fanhouse. “I think I match up really well with Thiago Silva. He’s a great striker, and I love his focus. He’s going to be a challenge, and that’s the kind of fight I want.”

After 4-straight UFC wins improved his career mark to 13-0, Silva (14-1) was matched up against fellow 205-pound contender Lyoto Machida in January but suffered a first-round knockout that propelled Machida into winning the light heavyweight belt from Evans. Silva bounced back last month at UFC 102 with a first-round knockout of Keith Jardine,

The matchup between Evans and Silva is the first rumored for the UFC’s tradition year-end card, which takes place this year on January 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

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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

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

Couture, the 46-year-old UFC hall of famer and former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, weighed in at 220-pounds, while the former UFC and PRIDE title-holder Nogueira tipped the scale at 231-pounds.

Light heavyweights Keith Jardine (205) and Thiago Silva (205), who square off in the UFC 102 co-main event, and featured middleweight contenders Nate Marquardt (185) and Demian Maia (185) were all on weight for their main card matchups.

Don’t forget to stop by MMAFrenzy.com tomorrow for live UFC 102 results and coverage, as well our fight night recap and post-event news.

The complete weigh-in results for UFC 102 were:

MAIN CARD

• 265: Randy Couture (220) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (231)
• 205: Keith Jardine (205) vs. Thiago Silva (205)
• 185: Nate Marquardt (185) vs. Demian Maia (185)
• 205: Brandon Vera (205) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (205)
• 185: Chris Leben (185) vs. Jake Rosholt (185)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• 185: Ed Herman (185.5) vs. Aaron Simpson (185)
• 265: Gabriel Gonzaga (259) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (258)
• 265: Justin McCully (238) vs. Mike Russow (260)
• 265: Tim Hague(263.5) vs.Todd Duffee (251)
• 185: Nick Catone (185.5) vs. Mark Munoz (185.5)
• 155: Marcus Aurelio (156) vs. Evan Dunham (155)

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

Joining a heavyweight headliner between Randy Coture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on the pay-per-view main card are Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva, Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt, Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt, and Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera.

The event’s now-complete 11-bout lineup features:

MAIN CARD

• Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
• Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
• Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
• Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt
• Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer
  
• Wilson Gouveia vs. James Irvin
• Junior Dos Santos vs. Justin McCully
• Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow
  
• Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
• Evan Dunham vs. Matt Veach

A co-main event featuring light heavyweights Keith Jardine and Thiago Silva was also confirmed for the pay-per-view card.

Tickets for UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira go on sale to the public at 10am PT on Saturday June 20 and are priced from $50 to $600. UFC Fight Club members can purchase tickets beginning at 10am PT on June 18, while UFC Newsletter subscribers can purchase tickets at 10am PT on June 19.

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Thiago Silva

After UFC 101 opponent Forrest Griffin was pulled from their co-headliner to meet Anderson Silva in a blockbuster matchup, Thiago Silva didn’t have to wait long to be matched up with a new opponent, though his next fight will take place several weeks later than originally scheduled.

According to MMAjunkie, Silva and Keith Jardine have agreed to meet at UFC 102 on August 29th in Portland, Oregon.

Silva suffered his first career loss to Lyoto Machida in his most recent bout, falling victim to a first-round knockout at UFC 94 in January. He had previously won all 13 bouts of his career, including 4 straight UFC victories over James Irvin, Tomasz Drwal, Houston Alexander, and Antonio Mendes.

Jadine has gone just 2-3 in his last five bouts inside the octagon, but has faced stiff competition over the streatch. After becoming Houston Alexanders first victim, Jardine bounced back with a victory over Chuck Liddell. After suffering another quick knockout loss to Wanderlei Silva, Jardine rebounded with a win Brandon Vera. “The Dean of Mean” was last in action in March in the UFC 96 headliner against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, but suffered a unanimous decision loss.

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