Antonio Rogerio Nogueira's Future May Be Bright Following Knockout Performance

Following UFC 104's light heavyweight title bout between current UFC Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida and PRIDE Grand Prix champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in which Machida won by way of a controversial unanimous decision, there was a tremendous amount of discussion surrounding the future of the division in regards to who may break into the contention role following the announced May rematch between Machida and Rua. Many fans felt that either Quinton "Rampage" Jackson would return from his "retirement" to battle the champion, the winner of Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva would make the jump, or Randy Couture would be given a crack at Machida following a couple of victories.

Of course, most of the possibilities hinge on a Mauricio "Shogun" Rua victory as he hasn't fought most of the past contenders in the division. A Lyoto Machida win in the rematch would limit the amount of challengers with Randy Couture probably being the leading candidate with a win against Mark Coleman since Machida has defeated Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva.

There is one possibility that became even more intriguing following his performance on Saturday night. Antonio Rogerio "Minotouro" Nogueira's quick boxing and overhand left completely devastated rising star Luiz Cane, giving Rogerio the "Knockout of the Night" and adding an impressive finish to a career that has featured more decisions than knockouts. I talked about the Cane vs. Nogueira bout being a dark horse candidate for the winner vaulting himself into contention talk, and Nogueira may have very well put himself in line for a shot at either Machida or Rua following another win.

Not only is Nogueira a fresh face in the mix at the top of the division, but he also has extensive experience against some of the top talent including Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He presents a formidable challenge to nearly anyone in the division with highly-credential boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and it wouldn't be a tough sell to fans if he can reproduce another spectacular knockout in his next challenge.

There are a couple of points I'd like to touch on in regards to Nogueira's performance that I think are pertinent to the discussion of his rise in the ranks. One of the major criticisms in the lead-up to this bout was that Nogueira had been slowing in his past fights, a deficiency that was also attributed to his brother's loss against Frank Mir.

The other major problem that many fans felt was a huge minus for Nogueira was that his boxing has never been a tremendous producer of finishes, and he's been known as more of a peppering fighter who could cruise to a decision. He didn't show tremendous defense, just like his brother, and the transition to the UFC was seen as a little late as many felt UFC-level fighters would pepper his chin with shots and take decisions from him.

While those problems were ultimately the reason why many fans chose to doubt Nogueira's abilities to defeat Cane, Nogueira came out with quickness and power in his boxing that was combined with an intelligence that led the way to victory. Not only was Nogueira's quick jab and overhand combination working efficiently and effectively, but it was evident that a meticulous study of Cane's weaknesses had revealed the key to punishing Cane's chin. Cane's left continued to drop throughout the round following Nogueira's quick jab, and the combination jab-overhand left completely devastated Cane on multiple occasions, eventually ending the bout.

Dana White should be surprised at the performance. Nogueira has hurt opponents with his punches in the past, but he has never punched an opponent unconscious in his eight year mixed martial arts career. Even more interesting, Ed Soares has mentioned in the past that both Nogueira and Machida would fight if the title was involved. Right now however, I believe Nogueira may be looking for a rematch with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua before a title run, but there is no doubt that his performance at UFC 106 has pushed him into the top portion of the division.

There has been talk of Keith Jardine or Forrest Griffin being potential match-ups for Nogueira. Both fights are solid second bouts in the UFC, and both could easily be launching points for Nogueira into a contention fight or title fight depending on who wins the rematch. Although the bump to title contention so quickly isn't the most fair move by the UFC, it makes sense if Machida happens to win as Nogueira will be a fresh face with impressive wins.