UFC 102 Main Event Antonio Nogueira vs Randy Couture

UFC 102 features former Pride champion Antonio Nogueira and six-time former UFC champion Randy Couture. This fight would have been spectacular 5 years ago but circumstances never allowed it.

Antonio Nogueira is only 33 years but has 10 years of big fight experience. Nogueira spent his best years fighting in Japan, earning big wins over the likes of Dan Henderson, Heath Herring, Bob Sapp, Mirko Cro-Cop and Josh Barnett. While he lost two fights to Fedor Emelianenko, he is one of the few fighters to have taken Fedor the distance, losing both decisions when the fight went to the cards.

Since joining the UFC, Nogueira went the distance with Heath Herring and choked out former UFC HW Champ Tim Sylvia. The Sylvia match earned him a match with Frank Mir for the interim heavyweight title. Nogueira entered the fight at, by his estimates, 60% due to being hospitalized with a staph infection. Frank Mir became the first person to finish Nogueira, knocking him out early in the second round.

Randy Couture is a UFC Hall of Famer and one of the most loved fighters in UFC History. Starting his mixed marital arts career late in life, he made his UFC impact early winning the UFC title after only four fights in the octagon. Couture has won a UFC title six times, with the most recent championship coming at the age of 43 with a win over 6’8 265lbs Tim Sylvia. Couture then defeated previously undefeated Gabriel Gonzaga before a contract dispute forced him into retirement.

Randy and Dana White settled their dispute and Randy returned to the UFC to defend his heavyweight title versus “The Next Big Thing” Brock Lesnar. While Randy and Brock had a closely contested first round, Lesnar dropped couture in the second and finished him off at 3:07 of the second round.

Both fighters are coming off losses and both are out to show that their respective lat matches were just bad nights at the office. Antonio Nogueira is a master of Brazilian Ju-Jitsu but he is known for taking a lot of strikes before turning the match around. This could present a problem for Nogueira as Randy Couture, despite his advanced age is unlikely to relent in his attacks.  Randy Couture can win but I have to ask the same question most of us have been asking for the past few years “How much more does Couture have left?”

Unlike his fight against Mir, Nogueira appears to be 100% and that will be the big factor in this fight. A 100% 33-year old will trump a 100% 46 year old Randy Couture. Pick Nogueira