According to a Feb. 1 report from MMA Junkie, UFC 156's 'Minotouro' Nogueira called his Feb. 2 fight with former UFC champ Rashad Evans the 'most important' of his life.
"This fight is the most important fight of my life," Nogueira said of his UFC brawl against Evans. "I'm just focused on this fight. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm going to try to do my best, and if I win, I think I'm going to be in a good place in the light-heavyweight division."
Evans (17-2-1 MMA, 12-2-1 UFC) could get a shot at UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva with a win over Nogueira, but the Brazilian legend is looking to spoil those plans.
Nogueira (20-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) hopes to prove he's still a top ten contender in the UFC's light heavyweight division by taking out a former champ like Evans.
"It's been 14 months or so without a fight, but I think it's going to motivate me," Nogueira said. "I can't wait to fight again. I trained a lot. I know this is a big fight on a big card, and I'm motivated for it."
UFC 156 is slated for Feb. 2 from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev. The event will be headlined by a featherweight title bout between Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo.
What would a victory over a top contender such as Evans do for Nogueira?
"I don't know," Nogueira said. "Some guys say I'm top 10. Some say top 15. But I want to be in the top five.
"When I beat this guy, I'm going to be in a good place."
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