Former interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fought Dave Herman at UFC 153 with a fractured rib.

Nogueira, an ex-PRIDE champion, suffered the injury a week into training for the short notice bout with Herman in Brazil.

“Fractured my rib three weeks ago on my right side,” said Nogueira, in an interview with SporTV. “I went to the doctor, took a local anesthetic to be able to train.”

Nogueira (34-7-1) rebounded from a submission loss to Frank Mir last year by submitting Herman. In the Mir bout, “Minotauro” suffered a nasty arm injury that kept him on the sidelines for several months.

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