THE CANADIAN PRESS
LAS VEGAS -- Veteran heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will take on unbeaten Cain Velasquez in the main event of UFC 108 on Jan. 2.
The card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena will also feature former light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans against Thiago Silva.
With the title bout between champion Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin on hold because of Lesnar's mononucleosis, the Nogueira-Velasquez bout takes the heavyweight spotlight with the winner expected to get a title shot of his own down the line.
Velasquez (7-0) is coming off a second-round demolition of (Big) Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 while the 33-year-old Nogueira (32-5-1 with one no contest) defeated Randy (The Natural) Couture at UFC 102.
"Nogueira versus Velasquez is a great matchup between the present and the future of the heavyweight division," UFC president Dana White said in a statement. "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 No. 1 contender emerge from this fight to take on the winner of the Brock Lesnar versus Shane Carwin title fight."
Evans has been in limbo recently after a planned matchup with Quinton (Rampage) Jackson, a rival coach on Season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter," fell through because Jackson was filming the movie remake of "The A-Team" in Vancouver.
A possible fight with Couture this week at UFC 105 in Manchester, England, also fell through.
Evans (18-1-1) has not fought since losing his title to Lyoto (The Dragon) Machida at UFC 98 in May. Silva (14-1) is coming off a knockout of Keith (The Dean of Mean) Jardine, a teammate of Evans, at UFC 102.
