Stefan Struve (right) wants a fight with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Stefan Struve does not hide his admiration of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The Dutch giant, coming off a loss to Mark Hunt at UFC Japan in March, sees the fight against “Big Nog” as a great chance for redemption.

The 25-year-old fighter said that when he was a kid, he liked to watch his idol beating opponents in Pride, and just thinking about those fights thrills him.

Earlier this week on GRACIEMAG.com’s “Choke MMA Show,” Struve talked about the respect he has for Minotauro, the strategy to beat the legend, in addition to what caused him to falter in his last fight.

“We’ve wanted this fight for a while now,” Struve said. “I think we’ve been talking about this fight for about two years. He’s one of my favorite fighters. I remember watching him when I was about 11 years old, so it’s unreal to be here now and be like, let’s get a fight with him. In my opinion, I didn’t really call him out … I think people need to see it in this perspective: If you want to fight in this sport, then you have to go out there and ask for it. Most of the time you’ll get it when the fans like it, when the UFC likes it and the other guy likes it. Big Nog said that he loved the fight and I told him to sign the contract. I’m waiting for him.”

When asked how he saw himself winning in a fight with the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, the Dutchman admitted that he should stay away from Nogueira’s strengths.

“Don’t get caught in a grappling fight, stay away from his submissions,” he explained. “I think if I do that, then I have a really good shot at winning the fight.”

Struve recently went on vacation in Los Angeles. While there, the fighter took some time to train with former UFC heavyweight and current MMA coach Antoni Hardonk.

Hardonk, who like Struve, is also from Holland, discussed Struve’s fight with Big Nog and said the former Pride champion has flaws that can be taken advantage of.

“When I see a guy like Big Nog, I see an amazing fighter, but he uses a lot of boxing. That gives him some holes in his game,” Hardonk said. “So I think that the young fighters like Stefan … can really take advantage of that.”

And you, readers, what do you think? Will this heavyweight fight happen? Let us know in the comment section.

Saturday’s card also broke the record for number of submissions in a UFC event with eight, surpassing the previous record of six.

Check out highlights and pictures below

In a rematch, Werdum bests Minotauro

A two-time black-belt Jiu-Jitsu world champion, Fabrício Werdum subs Minotauro, seven years after losing to him. Photo: Carol Correia

Fabrício Werdum and Rodrigo Minotauro clashed back in 2006 at Pride. Big Nog won that fight by unanimous decision. Seven years on, the heavyweight black-belts met again. They had coached the TUF Brazil 2 teams, and if the green team did better in Fortaleza, it was the yellow team’s coach who had his arm raised in the main event. The bout began with both studying each other. Then Werdum took the initiative, brought the fight to the ground and worked the ground-and-pound. When they got back up, they were more tired and so they clinched. They went into round two exchanging strikes, but inevitably the fight ended up in the ground, where Werdum was able to finish off Minotauro with and armbar. By the looks of it, Minotauro had his arm damaged again.

Léo Santos summons the power of Jiu-Jitsu to win at TUF Brazil 2

Léo Santos let Jiu-Jitsu do the talking, submitted William Patolino and got the UFC contract he was dreaming of. Photo: Carol Correia

Léo Santos really is a champion. He showed his skills during the months of confinement in the TUF Brazil 2 house and reached the semifinals, where he lost on points to Santiago Ponzinibbio. The Argentinian broke his own hand in the duel, and the UFC saw fit that the Nova União black-belt become William Patolino’s adversary in TUF Brazil 2 Finale. He made the best of the opportunity and showed that, despite having greatly improved his striking game, it was his world-class Jiu-Jitsu skills that were going to be decisive in making him a TUF Brazil 2 Finale champion. William took Léo down several times, and Léo strived for a submission. Standing, they exchanged strikes and Léo kept gaining confidence. At last he sank in a katagatame and forced the tapout, thus fulfilling his dream of signing with the UFC.

Thiago Silva spoils Rafael Feijão’s party and wins by knockout

Rafael Feijão feels the power of Thiago Silva’s strikes and gets knocked out in round one. Photo: Carol Correia

Light heavyweights Thiago Silva and Rafael Feijão weren’t kidding around. A knockout had been announced long before their match started. Both fighters, who had been inactive for some time, are known for their heavy fists and for favoring a stand-up game. The fight began with the former Strikeforce champ charging and landing the first kicks, jabs and straights. Thiago Silva fought back and forced Feijão to lower his guard. With his opponent against the mesh,
Thiago seized the opportunity and landed an upper to knock out Feijão in round one.

Erick Silva makes quick work of Jason High

Erick Silva displays high-level Jiu-Jitsu to submit Jason High at TUF Brazil 2 Finale. Photo: Carol Correia

Erick Silva came back to the Ultimate Fighting Championship on fire. Following his UFC Rio 3 defeat to Jon Fitch, the welterweight had perfected his Jiu-Jitsu with master Bruno Frazatto of Atos, and it showed. Erick took on Jason High in the main card’s third match. High went for his legs and took Erick down, but it was Erick who was in charge on the ground. He used all of his strength to apply a reverse triangle, and just wouldn’t let go. Erick’s submission of Jason High was the fourth fastest in UFC history, just 1min11s into round one.

Daniel Serafian submits Eddie Mendez

Daniel Serafian gets his first UFC victory with a katagatame vs. Eddie Mendez. Photo: Carol Correia

Daniel Serafian is known for his heavy hands, but last night victory came through a different martial art. The TUF Brazil 1 finalist was looking for his first win in the UFC, and it came rather quickly. At the beginning of round one the Brazilian took the fight to the ground and punched Mendez’s waistline until he managed to pass guard. Then, on top, he got a katagatame and that was that.

Rony Jason puts Mike Wilkinson to sleep

Lights out! Mike Wilkinson takes a nap in Rony Jason’s triangle. Photo: Carol Correia

Rony Jason moved MMA fans like he always does. As he entered the arena in his hockey mask he couldn’t hold back his tears and was applauded by the crowd. Fighting at home, he went after Mike Wilkinson and gave him no chances. Little more than one minute into the bout, Jason caught him in a triangle choke, and Wilkinson chose to pass out rather than tap out.

Undercard results

Raphael Assuncao def. Vaughan Lee by submission (armbar) at 1:51, R2
Felipe Arantes def. Godofredo Castro by TKO at 3:32, R1
Ildemar Alcantara def. Leandro Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rodrigo Damm def. Mizuto Hirota by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Caio Magalhaes def. Karlos Vemola by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:49, R2
Antonio Braga Neto def. Anthony Smith by submission (kneebar) at 1:52, R1

Rony Jason clears the triangle. Photo: UFC / Facebook

Another UFC event held on Brazilian soil, but this time with a special flavor.

Besides being the first one taking place in the country’s Northeast, featuring fighters hailing from that region, TUF Brazil 2 Finale, held at Paulo Sarasate Gymnasium, in Fortaleza, goes down as the first ever UFC installment with 100 percent of Brazilian wins.

With 12 fights on the card and only five bouts between two Brazilians, all other seven went to Brazilian fighters. More than once before, this almost happened, with just one or two Brazilians losing out of several bouts, but this time it’s the real deal.  Check out below which local warriors defeated foreigners at TUF Brazil 2 Finale.

Main card

Erick Silva caught Jason High in a reverse triangle at 1min11s of R1
Daniel Sarafian subbed Eddie Mendez via katagatame at 2min20s of R1
Rony Jason def. Mike Wilkinson via triangle at 1min24s of R1

Preliminary card

Raphael Assunção def. Vaughan Lee via armlock at 1min51 of R2
Rodrigo Damm def. Mizuto Hirota via decision
Caio Magalhães def. Karlos Vemola via rear-naked choke at 2min49s of R2
Antônio Braga Neto def. Anthony Smith via knee bar at 1min52s of R1

With a little over a week for the UFC in Fortaleza, Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are already in the final stages of training for their main event on the 8th of June. However, these two beasts have met on the mat before.

The duel took place at the now-defunct Pride in July 2006 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. The event, which featured other famous names like Mirko Cro Cop, Wanderlei Silva, Mark Hunt, Vitor Belfort, Alistair Overeem and Rogerio Nogueira, was not divided into rounds of three or five minutes. Instead, an initial 10-minute followed by two five-minute rounds defined the winner. Heat the turbines for the next event of the UFC with the video above and check out the card that closes the “TUF Brazil 2.”

TUF Brazil Finale 2
Gym Paulo Sarasate, Fortaleza, Ceará
June 8, 2013

Rodrigo Minotauro vs Fabricio Werdum
End of “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 2”
Thiago Silva vs. Rafael Feijao
Eddie Mendez vs. Daniel Sarafian
Erick Silva vs. Jason High
Rony Jason vs Mike Wilkinson

Preliminary card

Raphael Assuncao vs. Vaughan Lee
Ronny Markes vs. Derek Brunson
Godofredo Pepey vs. Felipe Arantes
Marajó Ildemar vs. Buscapé Leandro
Rodrigo Damm vs. Mizuto Hirota
Caio Magalhaes vs. Karlos Vemola
Antonio Braga Neto vs. Anthony Smith

Daniel Cormier answers fan questions during UFC 160 fight week. Photo credit: UFC

LAS VEGAS — Daniel Cormier hosted a question & answer session on Friday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The audience was able to ask questions and get answers from the fighter on various subjects.

The American, who won the Strikeforce Heavyweight GP, had his first fight in the UFC against Frank Mir last month at UFC on Fox, which he won by decision. But for his next challenge, Cormier has his eyes on a couple of Brazilian heavyweights scheduled to face each other next month in June.

“I want to face the winner of the fight between Nogueira and Werdum,” said the undefeated athlete.

Despite being available to the UFC to do more in fighting at heavyweight, Cormier can go down a weight class to avoid a collision with his friend and training partner, heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez.

One of the highlights of the chat involved whether or not Cormier wants to fight light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. The world-class wrestler provided fans an answer that they all wanted to hear.

“Everybody wants to know if I’ve already started (lowering my) weight to face Jon Jones at light heavyweight,” he said. “Give me the fight, and I’ll be ready tomorrow.”

Cormier also pointed at a duel against Josh Barnett as the toughest of his career, and revealed that in practice, suffers at the hands of Cain Velasquez.

“Cain hits hard, training with him is a challenge. It hurts me more than I him,” he explained. “As for the hardest fight of my career, I never felt like crying after a fight, but after facing Josh, I collapsed when I met my mother. I had a cut, and was very sore from all the heavy blows that I took. He hit me hard and just wanted to hear from her that everything was fine.”

Let’s all sit back and watch UFC heavyweight standout “Big Nog” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira instruct on how to transition from half guard to finishing with an arm triangle. Awesome.