Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has suffered a back injury and has been pulled from UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo according to MMA Junkie. Trevor Smith, who was supposed to face Nogueira in Sao Paulo, has been moved to UFC Fight Night Washington DC according to The Washington Post and will face Alonzo Menifield.
Smith (15-9-0) enters the contest while in the midst of a two fight losing streak, dropping bouts to the duo of Elias Theodorou and Zak Cummings. Smith is making his UFC Light Heavyweight Division debut in this encounter, having previously competed at middleweight. Smith has seen his last six professional MMA bouts go to a decision and it has been over seven years since the fighter got a finish.
Menifield (9-0-0) has already picked up two wins under the UFC banner, defeating the duo of Vinicius Moreira and Paul Craig. Menifield also competed on Dana White?s Tuesday Night Contender Series Episode 9, defeating Dashaun Boatwright by first round TKO. Menifield competed a total of nine times as a professional MMA fighter and just two bouts went past the opening round.
UFC Fight Night Washington DC takes place on Saturday, December 7 from the Capitol One Arena in Washington DC with Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on ESPN.