Part of the thrill of that win was Couture defying the critics who said he was too old, at 39, to get it done. Well, that was six years ago. Since then, Couture lost the rematch and the rubber match to Liddell. He's decisioned a clearly-cooked Tim Sylvia and stopped a frequently-disappointing Gabriel Gonzaga. Most recently, he looked severely outmatched against the monstrous Lesnar. That we are not in Couture's prime is beyond question, but we're not even at 2003 levels. Nogueira, meanwhile, was stopped cold by Mir in his last fight nine months ago. Lesnar-Mir was the big show; Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez are the next in line; I can't help but think that this is the last real hurrah for the two legends we'll see Saturday night.
Still, I expect a good fight; neither man is lacking for toughness. It could be a great one on the ground, with Big Nog's jiu jitsu against Randy's wrestling. Sadly for Dana White's dreams of dancing dollar signs, I think Noguiera pulls it out in three hard-fought rounds.
On the undercard, there are a few fights worth paying attention to. Thiago Silva doesn't get an easy out for his first fight since Lyoto Machida blemished his record in January. Keith Jardine always shows up for the fight, but Silva's ground-and-pound will likely be too much for the Dean of Mean. Silva will be anxious to prove he's worthy of a rematch against Machida; next time, for the title.
Chris Leben's back for his first UFC fight in almost a year. He's kept busy in that time, and not in a good way, earning the delightful triple crown of a DUI arrest, a probation violation, and a nine-month suspension for banned substances. He's got Jake Rosholt, who's coming off a quick loss to Dan Miller. Leben's got talent and an impressive result here would go a long way towards starting to prove he's got his act together.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
I've got Couture winning, actually. No actual reason why, I just like disagreeing.
2 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
The great thing about MMA is that it is just like the NFL... You never know whose going to win till game day.
Sure, Coture's last few wins could be considered lack luster but he did defeat Gonzaga who took out CroCop, and CroCop isn't a slouch in my opinion. So, honestly, you could say the same for Noguiera because he lost to Frank Mir and hasn't had a real fight since 2006 against Werdum. Plus, that was in Pride & in a ring not the Octogon. *Actually he won over Barnett and Josh Barnett is pretty damn good as well but he had to ruin the Fedor match by using steroids,so, I'm still rather pissed at him*
It's a tough one,but, I'll have to go with Coture and it will be a 3 round war. Though, I don't think Coture has got a snowball's chance in Hell against Lesnar.
Sorry, no offense, I just don't think that Mir, Sylvia & Herring are worth talking about.
As for Silva vs Jardine - I wouldn't count him out so quickly because the fighters he has lost to are fairly top notch. Personally, after his recent loss to such a powerhouse, I'm pretty sure he's gonna be out for blood. IMHO, Silva hasn't been put up against the same constant level of talent that Jardine has and lost to his first real (and incredibly awesome) challenge in Machida.
I would love to see the "Dean of Mean" showcase the upset of the night. And, get the "Fight of the Night" Bonus or, possibly, the "KO of the Night".
Brandon Vera... I could care less. I have no idea what happened to this guy.
Maia Vs. Marquardt - I've always liked watching Nate fight but I will have to check out Maia by your advice.
Leben Vs. Rosholt - Leben is a great brawler and has some pretty damn good striking but I think he's a lot like BJ Penn. Are we going to see the focused Leben or the unintelligent swinger?? Still, I always root for Leben.
3 - MDT
Good stuff Brian; thanks for writing in. I think you're right that I'm probably selling Jardine short; the more I think about that fight the more I think his weird style could cause Silva problems. Thiago's much better against a guy who'll trade with him.
Good point about Leben. I think given his recent troubles he absolutely needs to be on the ball in this fight or it could mean his career.
With Couture, that fight could go either way. A lot of folks are picking Randy and I see the logic; I just think Nog's got more in the tank at this point. (BTW, as far as Gonzaga goes... he beat the recent, crappy Cro Cop, not the Croat killing machine. Two really inconsistent fighters these days.)