Coming in as a last minute replacement (after an injury forced Forrest Griffin off the card) and a +475 underdog it was easy to overlook Jason Brilz against light heavyweight star Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Brilz simply did not care about the underdog label as he gave it everything he had for three rounds as he took Nogueira down repeatedly, rocked him badly standing and came close to finishing with a guillotine choke in the second round. Nogueira wasn’t without his moments though, as he clearly won the third round with nice sweeps from the bottom and some damage standing up.
UFC 114 Results - Jason Brilz Gains Respect, Loses Decision To Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
The first round was the closest of the fight and was clearly the round that would decide the fight. Nogueira won a few standing exchanges while Brilz got a few takedowns. SB Nation scored the bout 29-28 Brilz, having given him the first and second rounds. It only matters what the judges thought though and Nogueira won the split decision taking two judges scorecards 29-28 while Brilz won the other with the same score.
Following the announcement the sold-out crowd booed and continued to display their disapproval during the post-fight interview with Nogueira.
It will be a loss on his resume, but this was the fight where Jason Brilz made it known to the world that he can compete with the top guys in the world.
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