pretty good blog: UFC 102 - Couture vs Nogueira

Friday, August 28, 2009

UFC 102 - Couture vs Nogueira

UFC 102 - Couture vs. Nogueira - August 29, 2009 - Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Ore.

Matchups:

Randy Couture (No. 6 HW) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (No. 5 HW)

I like this fight a lot. I am a big fan of both Randy & Big Nog so it kinda stinks that one guy's gotta lose. I don't know how depreciated Nogueira actually is. I don't believe the rumors that he has repeatedly been knocked out in sparring, but I do know that Minotauro hasn't looked great in his 3 UFC appearances.

Jacare couldn't submit Randy in a grappling match, so I don't see a battle-scarred Nogueira submitting him. I think Randy has the better stand up, even if Nog doesn't show up looking like he did against Frank Mir. I see Randy putting Nog on his back, up against the cage and beating him up for 3 rounds. I hope I'm wrong & I hope there are some surprises. I hope it's a true 'fight'.
Couture by Decision.

Keith Jardine (No. 9 LHW) vs. Thiago Silva

I would like to take Jardine in this fight but I can't. Jardine has repeatedly shown he has trouble with brawlers that rush him & Silva is that kind of fighter. Jardine did impress me in his fight against Rampage, but I don't see this going well for him.
Silva KO, round 1.

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

I don't like this fight, & I couldn't be more disinterested. This shouldn't be on the main card when Gonzaga & Tuchscherer is on the under card. This is a middleweight match up with no relevance, meanwhile 2 decent heavyweights & possible future title contenders may not be seen.
Leben has heavy hands and a solid chin & that should be enough to beat the wrestler Rosholt.
I hope I'm wrong. Leben is a joke.
Leben TKO round 3.

Nate Marquardt (No. 3 MW) vs. Demian Maia (No. 5 MW)

I'm looking forward to this fight the most. The winner will most likely get a shot at Anderson Silva's middleweight belt, after Dan Henderson.

Maia has the best Jiu-Jitsu in the UFC, but Marquardt is no slouch in the grappling department. Nate has definitely got the better stand up. I see Maia getting Nate to the ground & submitting him, or at least working enough submission attempts to get the decision.

I have a gut feeling that this is a fight that would benefit from being 5 rounds & I will not be shocked to see a close split decision with Marquardt the victor.
Maia by Submission, rd 3.

Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

This is a very tough fight to call. Krzysztof has shown a ton of improvement since his loss to Vinny Magalhaes on the Ultimate Fighter 8, & Vera sometimes shows up not ready to fight. I won't be surprised if I'm wrong & Soszynski beats up on Brandon, but I see Vera showing up in shape, & keeping the distance standing.

Vera by Decision.

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer

Tuchscherer is Brock Lesnar's training partner & is basically just that. From what I've seen, he's a poor man's Brock. I am very interested in seeing the 17-1-0 Tuchscherer debut in the UFC against a top heavyweight.

I'm picturing a less exciting version of Brock Lesnar's debut against Frank Mir. I think Tuchscherer will put Gabe on his back and get carelessly submitted. Chris has faced some decent opposition but I don't think he's fought anyone with the Jiu-Jitsu pedigree of Gonzaga.

I can see Tuchscherer getting a TKO victory because, while Gonzaga has all the skills in the world to be an top 5 heavyweight, he seems to forget how to fight when he gets punched in the face.
Gonzaga by Submission, round 2.