Nogueira, Mir to coach next season of TUF
Heavyweights will meet for the title following season-finale
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Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira won the UFC heavyweight title in February, but he likely won't defend the belt until December or January at the earliest.
The UFC announced that Nogueira and Frank Mir will be the coaches for season eight of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter. The season debuts on Sept. 17, and the two will fight after the conclusion of the series.
Nogueira (31-4-1) captured the interim title with a third-round submission victory over Tim Sylvia at UFC 81. Since then, Randy Couture was officially offered a fight with Nogueira, but because of contract problems that have turned into legal issues, that bout was never expected to occur.
Mir (11-3) was a onetime UFC champion who captured the title in June 2004, also besting Sylvia for the gold. However, Mir's life took a tragic turn when he was badly injured in a motorcycle accident prior to his first title defense. As a result of his injuries, he was never able to defend his belt and was stripped of the title.
Mir returned to the cage in February 2006 but had mixed results in his first three bouts, going 1-2 with losses to Marcio Cruz and Brandon Vera. But since then, he's pulled off a pair of quick wins, submitting Antoni Hardonk in just 77 seconds and Brock Lesnar in just 90 seconds on the same card where Nogueira beat Sylvia.
Nogueira and Mir are considered two of the top jiu-jitsu practitioners on the MMA heavyweight landscape.
The next Ultimate Fighter season will go into production in May and will feature lightweights and light-heavyweights.
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