Minotauro Nogueira vs Brendan Schaub

Nogueira should be ready to go soon after having successful knee, and hip surgeries. He is a legend and still a top heavyweight for the UFC. Schaub on the other hand is a rising prospect and hasn’t looked back since losing to Roy Nelson. Schaub is a riding a 4 fight win streak with some decent wins over the likes of Gabriel Gonzaga, and Mirko Cro Cop. I have Nogueira as the #6 Heavyweight in the UFC , and Schaub as #7. This definitely would be a main card fight at UFC Rio.

Mike Russow vs Ben Rothwell

Russow is coming off a good win over Jon Madsen who was undefeated at the time. Russow displayed effective striking which showed up on Madsen’s swollen shut eye. Rothwell is a knockout artist with 18 of his 31 wins coming by knockout. He has been out of action for awhile but remains a top heavyweight in the UFC. This would be a perfect Co-Main Event for a UFC Versus, Live, or Fight Night card. It could also be a main card fight for a pay per view card but i’d think this would be a sweet fight to show live.

 Mirko Cro Cop vs Mark Hunt

Cro Cop might be done depending on if Dana White won’t let him fight 1 more time. IF he does get him up in a rematch with Mark Hunt. The only thing I fear is that Cro Cop will get brutally knocked out. Hunt is at the bottom of the UFC Heavyweights but make no mistake for his KO Power. A win for Cro Cop would not only avenge one of his defeats but possibly put his legend career to a rest. This would be on the main card of a UFC Versus, Live or Fight Night card. 

Jon Madsen vs Rob Broughton

Madsen is coming off his first loss of his young career. Madsen had gone 4-0 and had a chance to make some noise in the heavyweight division but was defeated by Mike Russow. Broughton is 1-0 in the UFC and was supposed to fight Dave Herman but was replaced. Both of these guys are wrestlers and are around the same rankings on the UFC Heavyweight roster.  These guys like to take you down and beat you up. A preliminary bout for sure.