Report: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Fabricio Werdum to coach TUF Brazil 2

It appears that The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 2 finally has coaches. After months of speculation over a bunch of Brazilian light heavyweights being handed the coaching spots, it turns out that heavyweights will be in the spotlight. According to a report from Brazilian site SportTV, former Pride and UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and fellow top contender Fabricio Werdum will square off, and meet in a rematch of their 2006 bout sometime next year.

Nogueira (34-7-1) is coming off a submission win over Dave Herman at UFC 153. This is his second TUF coaching stint, as he headed up a team on The Ultimate Fighter 8 against Frank Mir. Werdum (16-5-1) came back to the UFC after Strikeforce wins over Antonio Silva and Fedor Emelianenko, and has won his first two bouts on this run by defeating Roy Nelson and Mike Russow.

The two men first met at Pride Critical Countdown Absolute in the quarter-final of the Pride 2006 Openweight Grand Prix. Nogueira took that fight by decision. The contracts for the spots aren't signed yet, but verbal agreements have apparently been made. TUF Brazil 2 will feature welterweights and debuts next March.