Nogueira to retire after July trilogy bout vs. 'Shogun'

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira plans to retire after his trilogy bout against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC Fight Night on July 25, he told MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz.

"I think the time has arrived," Nogueira said.

"It's gonna be hard (to walk away), but I'm OK with it and I'm doing it the best way possible, fighting a great champion, someone I respect, someone that gave me a rivalry that forced me to train even harder," he continued. "I train more when I'm fighting 'Shogun.' I'm excited, I know it's going to be a great fight."

The Rua-Nogueira bout will serve as the co-main event of the UFC's fourth event on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, next month. The pair of light heavyweights have met twice before, most recently at UFC 190 in August 2015, with Rua winning via unanimous decision. "Shogun" was also victorious in the first encounter, which took place at a Pride FC event in 2005.

"I've been training different things for this fight," Nogueira said. "I'll take risks. I'll change the strategy. I'll be more aggressive, go for the knockout. I'll try to surprise him more. I can't talk about my strategy here, but I'll try to finish this fight, for sure. A knockout or a submission."

Nogueira, the twin brother of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, a former UFC heavyweight champion who retired in 2015, has competed as a pro since 2001. The 44-year-old holds notable wins over Alistair Overeem, Kazushi Sakuraba, Dan Henderson, and Tito Ortiz.

The Brazilian most recently competed in May 2019, losing to 205-pound prospect Ryan Spann via first-round knockout. Nogueira is 1-2 in his past three bouts.