Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was submitted for the first time in his career by Frank Mir at UFC 140 © Getty Images Enlarge

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after being forced to have surgery on his broken arm.

Early reports suggested the Brazilian, who incurred the injury when refusing to tap out during his defeat to Frank Mir at UFC 140, would not require surgery, but UFC officials later revealed that was no longer the case.

Big Nog, who received a 60-day medical suspension last Tuesday, had 16 screws inserted into his arm when he underwent surgery on Saturday.

"Mr. Nogueira suffered a complex fracture to his humerus," Dr. Tom R. Hackett wrote on the Nogueira brothers' blog (Nogueirabrothers.com.br). "The fracture began in the middle of the bone and extended to the elbow region. Unfortunately, the radial nerve [one of the main nerves lending a feeling of power to the hands] was damaged. The nerve is located in the area of the fracture, and the bone compressed it. Before the operation, he had very little strength in his hand and no strength whatsoever in his thumb.

"The operation involved an incision behind the arm. The nerve was removed from the location of the fracture and treated. The fracture was fixed with a plate and 16 screws, and now, less than 12 hours post-op, his hand functions are returning and the bone is mending.

"If all goes well, he'll be back to full training in the coming months and should be 100% to fight in six months or less. We foresee him making a complete and full recovery."

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