Former lightweight champion Sean Sherk (33-4-1) has been penciled in to collide with promotion sophomore Rafael Oliveira (9-2) at UFC 108, which is slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, as reported by Wisconsin Combat Sports.

A recent shoulder injury forced Sherk out of his 155-pound match-up against Gleison Tibau at UFC 104: “Machida vs. Shogun” at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., back on Oct. 24.

At the ripe old age of 35, the “Muscle Shark” looked as though he was heading back into title contention with a unanimous decision win over Tyson Griffin at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote,” demonstrating much improved striking skills.

Primarily known for his overwhelming wrestling attack, Sherk’s new multidimensional approach earned him and Griffin the “Fight of the Night.”

Unfortunately, he may have become too reliant on his stand-up and not his wrestling, which was a big factor is his divisional dominance for so many years. That helped Frankie Edgar outpoint him en route to a unanimous decision loss at UFC 98: “Evans vs. Machida” back in May.

Which Sherk shows up for the Oliveira fight remains to be seen.

The “Tractor” had won three straight prior to coughing up a unanimous decision to Nik Lentz in his Octagon debut at UFC 104: “Machida vs. Shogun” just last month. Like Sherk, he is also an aggressive fighter with a strong rate of finishing fights, having stopped 75 percent of his opponents before the final bell.

Finishing the former champ won’t be easy — only two men have been able to do it in 38 attempts.

UFC 108 will produce the next heavyweight number one contender when former Interim champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira takes on surging prospect Cain Velasquez in a bid to determine who will face the winner of Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar at some point in 2010.

As expected, former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, will collide with Brazilian slugger, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

For more on UFC 108 click here.

Brock Lesnar? Sick. Lyoto Machida? Hurt. Anderson Silva? Recovering. Georges St. Pierre? Rehabbing. BJ Penn? Busy.

That’s the hand the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was dealt as it prepares for its traditional blockbuster year-end pay-per-view (PPV) event, which is slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2.

So with all its champions unable to headline the card, the promotion today announced that former UFC interim heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, would indeed face off against undefeated rising star, Cain Velasquez, in the UFC 108 main event of the evening.

But just because there is no title at stake doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot on the line.

UFC President Dana White explains the significance:

“Nogueira vs. Velasquez is a great matchup between the present and the future of the heavyweight division. Nogueira showed in the 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.”

UFC 108 was expected to feature a reshuffled main event between ailing heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, and number one division contender, Shane Carwin. However, Lesnar is still suffering from a serious illness, mononucleosis, which scrapped the intended main event at UFC 106 on Nov. 21.

As expected, former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, will collide with Brazilian slugger, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on UFC 108 as it develops and everything else.

Props: MMAWeekly

Quoteworthy:

“(Carlos) is a great fight for myself. He’s a great, game striker. Like’s to have a bang, has some good submissions, and a bit of wrestling. But in my opinion, he’s a slightly worse version of (Martin) Kampmann, in that I don’t think he’s as solid in every area as Kampmann is. Of course I think I’m going to win and of course I think I’m going to win by knockout.”

Cocky and confident welterweight striker Paul Daley weighs in on his next opponent, former WEC stud Carlos Condit, who will meet “Semtex” on the main card of UFC 108. The heavy-handed Daley vaulted himself to the upper echelon of welterweights after knocking out Martin Kampmann at UFC 103 on Sept. 19 and doesn’t expect much resistance from “The Natural Born Killer” on Jan. 2. Will the crafty Condit get steamrolled in Las Vegas? Or is Daley getting a little too big for his britches after his win over “The Hitman?”

Former UFC interim heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, is in talks to take on undefeated rising star Cain Velasquez at UFC 108, which is slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2.

Sensei Sportv (via Tatame.com) was the first to report the potential showdown. No official announcement has come from the promotion, or Velasquez’s camp, at this time.

Stay tuned.

UFC 108 is expected to feature a reshuffled main event between ailing heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar (if he can recover from a serious illness), and number one division contender, Shane Carwin. Former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, is currently penciled in to collide with Brazilian slugger, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.