With a back injury, Minotouro is out of the rematch against Shogun

Herniated disc took R. Nogueira (photo) out of UFC 161. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

A “Greek gift” marked the 37th birthday of Rogério Minotouro. According to the website Fight.com, a back problem forced the athlete to leave, this Sunday (2), the rematch against Mauritius Shogun, at UFC 161, June 15th.

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The problem that took Minotouro out of the fight was caused by a herniated disc, and was felt at the beginning of last week. According to the information released, it is not a serious injury, however, given the proximity of the fight, the option was to remove him from the official card.

Minotouro is the second Brazilian fighter to leave UFC 161 because of an injury. Before him, the interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao suffered a foot injury and his confrontation against Eddie Wineland, which would have been the main fight of the night, ended up cancelled.

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Minotouro's departure frustrates MMA fans, who were eagerly awaiting the rematch of his defeat to Shogun in the now-defunct PRIDE in 2005. This fight, valid for the quarterfinals of the organization's middleweight GP, is considered one of the biggest in the sport throughout history.

Check out the updated UFC 161 card below, which takes place on June 15th in Winnipeg (Canada):

MAIN CARD

Rashad evans vs Dan Henderson;
Mauritius Shogun vs opponent to be defined;
Roy Nelson vs Stipe Miocic;
Alexis Davis vs Rosi Sexton;
Pat Barry vs. Shawn Jordan.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Jake Shields vs Tyron woodley;
Sam stout vs James Krause;
Ryan Jimmo vs Igor Pokrajac;
Sean Pierson vs Kenny Robertson;
Roland Delorme vs Edwin Figueroa;
Mitch Clarke vs John Maguire;
Yves Jabouin vs Dustin Pague.