Former Pride and UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and rising star Cain Velasquez will meet in the main event of UFC 108 on Jan. 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to determine the No. 1 contender for UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, the UFC announced on Tuesday.

Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans is looking to avenge his teammate Keith Jardine's loss when he takes on Thiago Silva in the other featured bout at UFC 108.

“Nogueira vs. Velasquez is a great matchup between the present and the future of the heavyweight division,” said UFC president Dana White. “Nogueira showed in the (Randy) Couture fight that he still has plenty left to offer at the top level of the game, and Velasquez was devastating in his win over Ben Rothwell, so with both guys in top form, we’re definitely going to see a number one contender emerge from this fight to take on the winner of the Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin title fight.”

Tickets for UFC 108 are priced at $600, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50, not including applicable service charges, go on sale Saturday, November 14 at 10 a.m. at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at ufc.com, mgmgrand.com or ticketmaster.com.

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