Other than the Marquardt - Maia tilt, I'm really not interested in the card. I think Marquardt beats Maia up for three rounds.

I'm holding on to my shekels for this one.

not the sexiest card, but overall I am looking forward to all the ME fights with the exception of the Leben fight

Maia/Marquardt - should be a good one, Maia is a BJJ phenom and could pose some problems for Nate
Nog/Randy - the old guys mix it up - interesting to see what either has left
Vera/ Kristoff - looking forward to this one- time for Vera to show something at 205 - although he fought Jardine tough

I agree, I'm not very interested in seeing this one either. But when I'm sitting home along tomorrow night, I'll probably buy it out of sheer boredom. I'm nervous about the Marquardt/Maia matchup. I really like Nate and want to see him rematch The Spider, but Maia is CRAZY good at submissions. I'm worried that if Maia wins, that he's gonna get a shot at The Spider since he's undefeated, and that matchup just brings back shades of the Leites/Spider "fight".

And hopefully this will be the last of both Couture & Noguiera. I admire & respect both of them as fighters & people, but they're old and will just get whooped from here on out. Same with Coleman. After Tito KO's him in Round 1, Coleman oughta walk away.

I kind of agree with your statement about Couture and Noguiera. Even though I still think Couture is relevant, I'm lukewarm on him at best. Also, Noguiera is an old 33 as he has seen some real wars. I'll be rooting for Noguiera on that one. I can't believe Coleman is still able to even compete at this point. The guy has never taken the cardio side of things seriously and he always seems gassed to me by the end of the first round.

As for UFC102, I won't be sad if my plans this weekend mean I end up missing it. I'm hoping Nate beats Maia and gets another crack at Silva. I am a little interested to see what Gabriel Gonazaga will do in his fight. I think the Jardine/Silva fight will be interesting and I'd like to see Jardine win.

Will be in Vegas this weekend for a wedding tonight... Anybody know of a good spot to go watch the fights (that doesn't charge a huge cover)? I'm not dead set on going to see them somewhere, but if I can catch them for free or a small fee, I'll probably do it.

http://www.atdhe.net/
scroll down to the bottom. The USA only link is running nice.

Wow... Maybe the most absurd MMA post I've ever read. Couture is still elite and was going toe to toe with Lesnar before he was clipped. Couture is the one of only two guys that has a chance against Lesnar. Nog has been unstoppable sans Fedor fights his entire career. His last showing against Mir was due to a nasty staph infection which effected his conditioning, training, and cardio. The dude is elite. Anyone who's watched his pride fights know what this guy is, and what he still has. Marc Coleman doesn't belong in the same discussion as Captain America and Big Nog.

0-2 so far. Nate Marquardt knocking Maia out that fast puts him back in the picture for a shot at the title. I think Nate has the tools to give Silva a run for his money, so why not?

Wow, pirates, if my post was "the most absurd MMA post you've ever read", then obviously you haven't read too many. What I meant by my comment is that Couture is a very light heavyweight, typically weighing in around 220. All these newer, younger guys are coming in at 235+, like Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, even those guys on the card tonight. Guys are so big they have to cut weight to get under the 265 limit. Randy is in great shape and his experience helps him greatly, but if you think he's ever going to contend for a title again you're crazy. Besides, he's 46. He's milking a couple more paychecks before retirement, and he is still marketable enough to carry a card that doesn't have a title fight, just like Rich Franklin. Personally, I would love to see Randy drop down to 205 and take on some of those guys, maybe even Anderson Silva if he tries another fight at 205. Or Rampage. Or Rashad Evans.

As for Big Nog, the dude has taken A LOT of punishment in his career. Remember when he got dropped on his head by Bob Sapp? Everyone knows Big Nog's MO is to take a lot of punishment and then to "come back" and get a submission or eke out a decision, like in the Heath Herring fight. Staph infection or not for the Mir fight, he was still following his routine---getting beaten up before staging a comeback. He's only 33, but he's an ooooold 33. His tendency to take punishment, plus now it's in his head that he can be KO'd, are reasons why I think he's going to have a hard time against these younger, stronger fighters who have hands so big they need custom gloves made.

You are entitled to your opinion, and so am I, and it is my opinion that Randy and Big Nog are both past their prime and have taken so much punishment in their careers that they should strongly consider retiring from active fighting and simply train fighters full time. Just watch...Big Nog will get a couple more fights to milk some more retirement money from the UFC teat, but he won't get another title shot unless Dana White has nobody else to throw at Brock.

how does me missing on Maia = 0-2? huh? sick knockout tho , wow

quit being such an MMA elitist jeezus H


Raandy is done

Just watched the fights. I'll give Big Nog a little more credit. He did look freakin' great tonight, much better than he did against Mir & Herring. Then again, he was fighting a 46-year old. I still think Nog only has a few more decent fights left unless he wants to end up like Muhammad Ali. I liked how Rogan brought up Randy dropping down to LHW though....he must've read my previous post. =)

I think "Big Nog" is getting smarter instead of getting stronger. At 33, he really knows how to trick the player into dangerous positions. Couture is a smart fighter but "Big Nog" is just plain stronger and faster in so many ways. Congrats.

Btw, the Fight betwee Duffee and Hague should also be noted.

Can anyone who saw the fight let me know how Jake Rosholt looked. I saw he got a sub over Leben, but, I was curious if he dominated the fight or if he was losing at the time of the sub. It's pretty cool to see two former D1 wrestling stand-outs from Oklahoma State, Rosholt & Hendricks winning solid fights this early in their MMA careers.

No joke, no one can have an opinion without this dude berating them.

Randy has been done, and he wouldnt last 2 mins with Lesnar today. He should retire immediately.

Apparently Couture signed a new deal before UFC 102 for 5 more fights after Nog. Doesn't look like he's retiring anytime soon.

yep - looks like Randy will probably end up close to a .500 fighter when all is said and done - 16-10 and counting. I think if he drops to 205 he is going to get dummied by top notch LWH - his opponents are going to need to be cherry-picked, maybe Liddell again? not sure where he really fits in anymore.

haha- Spider - would never fight Randy, to much respek for the dude- you think he clowned Forrest?, he would destroy Randy it would not be pretty, for that matter so would Rampage and Rashad, AND Rua, and Machida, and all the othe top 205 guys. Chit Chuck has made him look slow as mplasses in their last 2 fights, and he is slowing down........

besides the occasional Nog/Liddell fight he is not a legit challenger anymore in any weight class - that being said the Nog fight was entertaining as hell, but let's be honest - anyone other than Randy and that fight is stopped. Nog buckled him, and followed up by slamming his head off the canvas multiple times- he got lucky

one of the greats, but the nut hugging has got to stop at some point

Kick back turbo, I was replying to you saying you looked forward to a good fight. It wasn't a good fight, it was a one punch knockout. I also wasn't insulting you. Wow.



He controlled Leban the entire fight before the choke. Leban couldn't work his game at all.


Aren't you banned? How many more accounts are you going to have blocked? Leave me alone.

Gotta disagree with your assumption on Couture being destroted by Spider. Couture should have been fighting at LHW all along, it's where he has his biggest advantage. A Spider/Couture fight would be different in every way possible. Couture is one of the greatest wrestlers to ever step inside a cage. He gave Lesnar problems for a short time. If Couture/Spider ever came to fruition, I predict Couture getting in close and taking it to the ground. A very boring fight, but boring can still win. I don't think Silva could sub him, as Big Nog couldn't do it, and had the arm triangle set up nicely. I think he'd also out wrestle Evans and beat him as well. I'm on board with Rampage being able to beat him IF Rampage has his act together. Jackson is nearly unstoppable when everything is clicking in his head. When it's not, he gets out pointed by Griffin.
Many, many people swore that Couture has been done many many times, but I will never doubt the guy. Yes he's old, but him moving down should slow down the aging. He's already the best wrestler in the LHW division, and that is huge. Wrestling is the most important discipline to roll with in MMA, and this is coming from a BJJ guy.
I apologize if this comes off as me being an MMA elitist or whatever it is that you said, but that's my view.

haha - all good - I like the MMA discussion - I think you are over-estimating Randy at this point in his career, to be honest. He has been exposed by Chuck quite easily at LHW, and I think he would have a gigantic speed issue against the top LHW. I disagree, I don't think moving him down slows down the aging, it will speed it up - he is a dead man walking on his feet against any of the top strikers, he would be solid on the ground - but at the end of the day the top guys would eat him up- chit Chuck made Randy look slow and that was 3-4 years ago. I think at this point his opponents need to be picked very carefully, I think they set him up with some good matchups so he can end on a winning note - NOW if he dives in against the top 205'ers he will end his career as a .500 fighter - We don't have to worry about Spider fighting Randy, I don't think he ever would take the fight bc he knows he would embarrass him.

I love Randy - I just think he is way overrated and the reality is the dude is 16-10 and his best W in the past 5 years is over GG or Sylvia - take yer pick there.

saying he gave Lesnar problems is a HUGH stretch, cmon - you can't be serious -

Lesnar had a difficult time getting him to the ground when they were up against the cage. After Lesnar took him down, he still got back up. No one else can do that. Not Fedor, Nog, Carwin, or whoever you want to put there. I think you're discounting how good his is with take downs and takedown defense. One thing is for sure, we're going to find out who's right. In the post fight presser, Couture and Dana announced a seven fight contract extension to which he'll retire upon it's completion. He also went onto say that he's moving back to the LHW division.
As far as Chuck doing what he did to him... Chuck was doing that to everyone and everything for a few years running. Getting beat by the greatest LHW ever in his prime isn't a horrible thing.

I agree with this. It isn't like the hand/foot speed of fighters decreases with weight. I don't think Randy can compete consistently at the top of the light heavyweight division. While I respect his ground game, I think the take down defense of a lot of the guys would negate this to a point where striking will come in to play and Randy will be beaten up top. Hell, even slow ass Nog almost knocked him out cold twice!