UFC 102 preview/predictions

Couture vs. Nogueira: This is hard because I like both guys and have seen both of them do amazing things in the ring/cage, but I have to give it to Couture. He's got better wrestling, so he'll be able to determine where the fight takes place. In addition, he's got better head movement, punches from more angles, is light-years ahead in the clinch game, and since he survived a grappling match with "Jacare" I think his sub defense is good enough to keep him out of trouble. Plus, Nog has looked really bad in recent outings. I don't just mean the Mir fight, where allegedly he came in with a bad knee and recovering from a staph infection. He's gotten knocked down more in his last three fights than all his previous fights combined, I believe.

Jardine vs. T. Silva: Silva likes to get into slugfests, but he's not really a great striker. Jardine has weird angles and timing. Silva has a great ground game. Jardine has pretty solid wrestling. I think Jardine's going to take this one.

Leben vs. Rosholt: Jake Rosholt is a great wrestler. Leben lacks a whole lot of wrestling skills. Plus, he's coming off of a suspension due to 'roids and hasn't fought in almost a year. As long as Rosholt doesn't gas out, he should take a UD.

Marquardt vs. Maia: I had Marquardt winning this one until I saw him say on a preview show, "I could take him in a grappling match". No, Nate. You couldn't. If he comes into the fight with the mentallity that he needs to prove he's a better grappler than Maia, which is something his coaches alluded to, he could end up ****ing this fight away. In light of that, I have Maia by RNC in the 3rd after Marquardt has another brain fart.

Vera vs. Soszynski: anyone remember when Vera was supposed to be the future of MMA? If he uses his wrestling to put Soszynski on his back, then pass his guard immediately, this could work out in Vera's favor. As it is, I think we'll probably see a TKO for Krzysztof "I Hate Vowels" Soszynski due to his aggression and heavy hands.

I'm not gonna fool with the undercard. Anyone else have any predictions?

 

Couture vs. Nogueira: Something is wrong with Nogueira. If I was in his camp, I would be encouraging him to hang it up, because he hasn't seemed like himself recently. I'm concerned that he was injured during his fight with Bob Sapp (see piledriver), and never fully recovered. Between 2/24/2001 and 12/31/2004, he fought 18 times, facing opponents such as Fedor, Cro Cop, Bob Sapp, Heath Herring, Alistar Overeem. That's serious business. I think he is one of the best heavyweights in the business, but Couture is going to take this one because Nogueira isn't big nog anymore.

Jardine vs. T. Silva: I think Thiago Silva is hands down the better fighter. Silva.

Leben vs. Rosholt: Rosholt. Part of CHris Leben's strategy seems to be getting punched in the face.

Marquardt vs. Maia: Maia

Vera vs. Soszynski: Don't know either fighter.

 

I'm in agreement with most of your predictions except I have to go with Vera. Guy has a mad amount of talent.

 

The Sherdog "Pros Pick" seems to be split down national lines:

http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/pros-picks-couture-vs-nogueira-19340

 

Nog by round 2 submission.

 

Nah...if Couture could hold off Jacare in a submission only match I say he has the measure of Nog.
The Natural by ref's stoppage TKO in the third.

 

I would have loved to have seen Big Nog at his best face Randy rather than the "ghost of Nog" we see today. There is just so much punishment a fighter can take before your ability begins to really decline. Nog's last few fights are strong indications that it's time to move on to coaching and the seminar circuit, ect. It's not always as much an age factor as the mileage on the body. Guys like Frank Shamrock and Chuck Liddell are younger than Randy, but the waer and tear on their bodies has been apparent in their more recent appearances. These guys may be great fighters and still in great shape, but their time has come. So too, I fear, is the case for Nog.

Even though Randy is getting a bit long in the tooth for a top tier MMA fighter, so far it doesn't seem that his performances have diminished that much. Though he did lose to Lesnar, it was after over a year off from serious training and he seemed very competitive in the fight until he got clipped on the temple. And THAT could put just about anybody down. If Randy can still stay at this level despite his age, more power to him

 

Spoiler

Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira is my HERO. Tonight, I shed tears of joy!!!

To all the doubters, all the haters, and all the faithless - are you satisfied now? Nogueira has shown once again he has more heart than any other fighter in the world!!!

 

Spoiler

For a card that wasn't all that stacked, this was a great show.

First up was Vera vs. Soszynski. Vera used some pretty good footwork and counter-striking to keep Soszynski off-balance. By the third, you could tell Soszynski was no longer mentally into the fight. Vera won by UD.

Next was Maia vs. Marquardt. I must have missed that part of the preview where Maia said he could beat Marquardt in a stand-up fight. After some kicks from Maia, Marquardt laid him out with a single right cross that sent the BJJ specialist tumbling through the air. Nate stood over him and loaded up for another big right, but mercifully chose to walk away when he saw Maia was out. The time: 21 seconds.

Rosholt-Leben started off kind of strange, with Rosholt looking to trade and Leben getting the takedown. A back-and-forth fight ended with Rosholt remembering that he's a great wrestler, and taking Leben down. He got the submission in the third with a shoulder choke (arm triangle). In another odd moment of the night, it looked like Leben was about to tap, then changed his mind. As it turned out, he was just going unconcious.

We then got to see a very quick (seven second) prelim bout that saw Todd Duffee set the record for fastest knockout in the UFC after he plastered Tim Hague with a stiff jab and some brief ground-and-pound. Duffee, post-fight, came across as a funny, classy guy. He's a ripped 250lbs and has a 6-0 record. I think he also trains at ATT. It'll be interesting to see who they put him with next.

Keith Jardine disappointed me by staying in the pocket with Silva. Early in the first round, he ate a left hook that dazed him and put him down; Silva followed up with a brief ground-and-pound finish.

Because that fight was so short, we got to see Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson. This was another great fight. Herman did his normal "take a lot of punches and still come forward" routine, while Simpson looked very solid with both his striking and his wrestling. Explosive guy. There were a number of times I thought the ref would stop it for the punishment Herman was taking, mostly on the ground. A Simpson takedown late in the first clearly screwed with Herman's knee. To his credit, Herman came out for the second round, but his leg gave out early when Simpson caught a kick of his. Herman's earned my respect as a tough guy, and Simpson has my attention with his skills, athleticism, and killer instinct.

Couture-Nogueira was epic. This was one of the few cases where I could have seen another two rounds, although to be fair I don't think it would have changed the outcome. Nogueira somehow turned back the clock and made me forget all the trouble he's had since coming into the UFC. He rocked Couture with some of his punches, while walking through a number of Randy's shots. Couture sought the clinch, and when he got it he would score, but Nogueira did a great job of staying away from the fence. Whenever it went to the ground, Couture would lay in some short, ineffective ground-and-pound before Big Nog would reverse him. Twice, it looked like Couture would be stopped with chokes, but he showed great defense and solid scrambling abilities. However, when all was said and done, Nogueira had clearly won the fight in the stand-up and on the ground. While I was disappointed that Randy lost, I'm glad to see Nogueira returning to form. And even in defeat, Randy showed a much-improved ground/sub defense game than he had before.

As a bonus match, we got a slugfest between Marcus Aurelio and Evan Dunham. Dunham uses solid striking and takedown defense to frustrate Aurelio early, but the Brazilian eventually started throwing leather and landing takedowns. Dunham made excellent use of butterfly/elevator hooks to stay off the ground. In the end, Dunham got a split decision victory.

 

Sorry I doubted. By the way I'd change your sig if I were you. It shows you have no concept of weight cutting. He made one comment that he love food and gets fat when he is not training and then a bunch of people who have no concept on weight cutting assume he drops 40+ lbs then hydrates up to 220+ the next day...

 

My sig stands. Anderson is an amazing fighter, the best at 185, but at 205 he will face much more problems.

He's fought four top fighters IMO. Franklin x2, Henderson, Okami, and Forrest Griffin (who I think is not top competition but will give the benefit of the doubt for Silva's record).

The rest have been Middleweight B-class fighters.

So do I believe he is one of the best P4P fighters in the world? Absolutely.

Do I think he has a great record? Absolutely not. He fights more cans than Fedor. =_=

 

I V+'ed it but not had a chance to watch yet, same goes for 101. Need a solid 6 hour block where the baby is asleep

 

You named a good percentage of his UFC fights up there. As to before that what are you saying? That he tried to 'pad his record'? You do realize that he almost gave up the fight game because he couldn't the two big organizations to sign him. Pride wasn't interested (he had left Chute Box) and he didn't get any interest from the UFC. So are you saying that he should have just given up rather than taking whatever fights he could get? I mean he wouldn't want to 'pad his record' just to feed his family. Well actually that wasn't even happening. As he puts it, "...I considered giving up fighting. I needed to provide for my family, and that wasn't happening along my current path."

BTW did you know when he entered from smaller promotions to the bigger promotion of Shooto he fought the champion Hayato Sakurai in his SECOND bout with the organization (similar to what happened in the UFC)? And back then he was fighting at 170 lbs, a welterweight. He has actually fought in a weight class BELOW the one where he 'doesn't belong because he is too big'.

 

Yes I do know he fought Sakurai. Again my argument is Sakurai is much too small. Sure Silva had a smaller frame back then but he still have massive reach/height advantage, exceeds Sakurai in power, even if speed is lacking a bit.

I am not taking anything away from Anderson Silva. Just saying his record is not as impressive as most people who feed off the UFC hype machine makes it out to be.

He is still the #1 Middleweight in the world without a doubt, would still destroy Hendo in a rematch, would still murder GSP if they fought, and has the capability to beat Shogun, Rampage, Machida, Thiago Silva, and a number of other light heavyweights.

But he hasn't fought the best competition he can yet, I am just stating the truth.

I hope he stays at 205, and if he wrecks that division then, well, it could very well solidify his status as the #1 P4P fighter in the world, because 205 offers many more top tier fighters than Heavyweight.

 

I just wanted to say that I am glad Nog proved me wrong. I haven't seen the fight yet, so I am uncertain of the details, but I hope it means that this great of the sport still has some of the greatness left in his tank.

 

I am glad I got proven wrong as well. I was disappointed that the Maia one didn't last too long, but good win for Nate. And A. Silva needs a new challenger.

 

Mousasi vs. Anderson Silva. Make it happen Dana!

Also I watched a recent interview with Dana White, where the interviewer listed a number of fighters and asked Dana to rate from 1-5 in terms of importance trying to get them into the UFC.

When asked for Mousasi, White said "Seven." Hahaha.

Also Little Nog is signed onto the UFC, according to Dana.

Lil' Nog vs. Shogun 2 is in the making!

 

Nog reversing a wrestler as good as Randy twice is testament to his BJJ skills still being top notch. The first sweep was a thing of beauty. Shame they filmed it from the top view as you couldn't see the full set up.

 

Who else at middle weight would you say Anderson is missing from his resume?

 

Actually Mousassi has pretty much abandoned the MW division, and is fighting at LHW and flirting w/ HW.