Nogueira wins beats randy

[FUZO]

Tweetwas beautiful to fight him,” said Nogueira, the only man in history to hold the UFC and PRIDE heavyweight titles. “He’s a true champion and he’s one of my idols. It was a beautiful show today.”

“I’m disappointed about losing, but you gotta love this sport,” said Couture, a three time heavyweight and two-time light heavyweight champion.

Both Nogueira and Couture were coming off losses - the 33-year old Nogueira to Frank Mir last December, and the 46-year old Couture to Brock Lesnar – leading many to wonder whether the two had hit the end of the line in their storied careers. But as the old fight game adage goes, the great ones always have one great fight left in them.

And that’s what we saw tonight, as Nogueira outpointed Couture by three scores of 30-27 in a fight that was much more competitive and drama-filled than those numbers would indicate.

The bout began with a spirited standup exchange, and the pace remained high in the early going, with Couture beating Nogueira to the punch. Nogueira remained patient though and soon hit paydirt, dropping Couture with a hard right hand. Nogueira then almost finished things with a choke while on the mat, but Couture gamely fought his way free and the two rose and exchanged punches, with Couture cutting Nogueira over the left eye. As the round entered its final two minutes, the two heavyweights traded blow after blow as the crowd rose to its feet, and one of the best rounds of the year ended with a stalemate along the fence and Couture going back to his corner with a mouse under his eye and Nogueira needing work on the cut over his eye.

Nogueira hurt Couture again early in the second round, but he slipped as he tried to pull guard for the submission, and Couture took advantage by following Nogueira to the mat and firing away with his trademark ground and pound attack, as the crowd roared with each shot landed by the hometown favorite. But just when things looked bad for Nogueira, “Minotauro” reversed and got into the mount position. Couture was able to improve his position, but Nogueira kept working, getting into the mount again with two minutes left. While there, Nogueria fired away, but in an ensuing scramble with a minute left, Couture got to his feet and the two again traded haymakers until the bell.

Going on the attack immediately to start round three, Nogueira dropped Couture hard with a right hand, and the follow-up barrage looked to be the one to finish off ‘The Natural’, but Couture, showing the resilience that has always been Nogueira’s trademark, survived the assault and looked to pull
off the miracle comeback. But with a cut now over his right eye, Couture was running out of time, and Nogueira wanted to shorten that time even more as he got Couture’s back and looked for a choke. The crowd erupted, trying to will their man to victory, and with 90 seconds left, Couture escaped and got into Nogueira’s guard. “Minotauro” gripped Couture tight, hoping to force a standup while nullifying his opponent’s ground and pound, but that was not to be, and though Couture ended the bout with a flourish, a win was not in the cards tonight. But “The Natural” still insists that he has plenty of fight left in him.

“What keeps me going is guys like Nogueira and interesting fights,” said Couture. “We’ll let the dust settle, take a week, and see what the UFC wants to do. I’m here and I’m ready to fight.”

As for Nogueira, his intentions are clear after his latest career resurrection.

“I want a title belt,” he said. “I’d like a chance to fight against Lesnar.”

With the win, Nogueira improves to 32-5-1 with 1 NC; Couture falls to 16-10

[2-Swole]

TweetI thought they put on a pretty good show!

[tn94z]

TweetGood fight! This was a hard one to choose man. I really like both fighters and it is hard to bet against Randy. I would rather see Nog fight Brock than Randy fight him again though.

[jipped genes]

Tweetthat was a tremendous fight. randy is just too damn small.

nog looked so huge.

i say he fights at 205 again. he came in at 220# and could easily cut 15# to fight at LHW.

[tn94z]

TweetI agree.

[6p6]

Tweetfinally a good show!

[angryoldman]

TweetNOW, if you guys want to say someone sucks, I can see you guys saying Couture sucks, not Jardine. If you guys seen the same fight I did, Randy got owned that whole fight. At no point in the fight, did Randy seem to be a threat to Nog. Nog had him beat standing up, and on the ground.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Randy "sucks". We all know the guy is legit. But Nog beat him up and down like a red headed step child. I think at 46 years old, Randy needs to think about retirement. Him and Jens Pulver both need to sit down, have a glass of prune juice, and talk about the "good ole days", when they could beat top fighters.

[tn94z]

Tweet

NOW, if you guys want to say someone sucks, I can see you guys saying Couture sucks, not Jardine. If you guys seen the same fight I did, Randy got owned that whole fight. At no point in the fight, did Randy seem to be a threat to Nog. Nog had him beat standing up, and on the ground.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Randy "sucks". We all know the guy is legit. But Nog beat him up and down like a red headed step child. I think at 46 years old, Randy needs to think about retirement. Him and Jens Pulver both need to sit down, have a glass of prune juice, and talk about the "good ole days", when they could beat top fighters.

Are you serious? HAHA!!!! Randy puts up a good fight at HW ....HW....and you are now comparing him to a very over rated Jardine? No threat? Did you see any of the punches that he landed? You said it...he is 46 and still puts up a hell of a fight at HW! I can't even argue this point anymore...this about as crazy of a post as I have EVER seen

[FUZO]

Tweetaom doesnt know shit when it comes to the ufc fights period.lol

[gator_mclusky]

TweetRandy has what they call....."Spirit!" He has the spirit to bounce back and didnt even consider retirement! Thats a guy Id want having my back and he will bounce back.

Nog and Lesner would be a great fight!

gator

[angryoldman]

TweetSee, this is where better judgement gets clouded. The worst gamblers are people that bet on emotion. For example, the Detroit Lions vs the NE Patriots. Stright up, no points. There's some guy, somewhere, who will pick Detroit because, that's his team! And of course, when Detroit loses 64-0, the guy says "They didn't play that bad. Any other team would have lost 84-0".
And it's the same thing with the Couture fight. You could let a 10 year old watch that fight, and they would clearly see Couture did not pose one threat to Nog that whole fight.
Now, obviously, some folks took my post to heart too much. I was not saying Couture sucks, like people were saying Jardine sucks. I di say Couture looked old in that fight. Yes, he is 46. And I think fighting Lesnar aged him a little bit as well.

[O2BESOHUGE]

TweetI AGREE...RANDY IS A SMALL HEAVY WEIGHT...TOO SMALL NOW. HE COULD EASILY GET DOWN TO 205 AND HAVE SOME FUN

[tn94z]

Tweet

See, this is where better judgement gets clouded. The worst gamblers are people that bet on emotion. For example, the Detroit Lions vs the NE Patriots. Stright up, no points. There's some guy, somewhere, who will pick Detroit because, that's his team! And of course, when Detroit loses 64-0, the guy says "They didn't play that bad. Any other team would have lost 84-0".
And it's the same thing with the Couture fight. You could let a 10 year old watch that fight, and they would clearly see Couture did not pose one threat to Nog that whole fight.
Now, obviously, some folks took my post to heart too much. I was not saying Couture sucks, like people were saying Jardine sucks. I di say Couture looked old in that fight. Yes, he is 46. And I think fighting Lesnar aged him a little bit as well.

But as longtime MMA fans, and having watched all of Randy's fights. He is better now than he has ever been. He has better gameplans, his BJJ defense is better. He says he feels better than he ever has. Randy has reached his peak. Nog is just a more well rounded fighter and MUCH bigger. Randy looks this way because he is fighting in a weight division that he shouldn't be fighting in. Let him go to 205 and fight....then I bet he doesn't look "OLD."

[angryoldman]

Tweet

But as longtime MMA fans, and having watched all of Randy's fights. He is better now than he has ever been. He has better gameplans, his BJJ defense is better. He says he feels better than he ever has. Randy has reached his peak. Nog is just a more well rounded fighter and MUCH bigger. Randy looks this way because he is fighting in a weight division that he shouldn't be fighting in. Let him go to 205 and fight....then I bet he doesn't look "OLD."

I agree whole heartedly. So why is he fighting in the Heavyweight division??? There's lots of guys in the 205 division I would like to see Randy fight and destroy.

As per someone else's comments, I watched the very first UFC ever. And have watched every PPV since. I remember Patrick Smith, the original Royce Gracie, Manny Yarborough, and tons of others that made it a few years here and there. The american Ninja guy from, like, UFC 3, who got his buttox whooped in 12 seconds. I loved the olden days as well, when the rules were a little less stringent. However, those 5 minute grappling matches would get old between Gracie and Shamrock.

[tn94z]

Tweet

I agree whole heartedly. So why is he fighting in the Heavyweight division??? There's lots of guys in the 205 division I would like to see Randy fight and destroy.

As per someone else's comments, I watched the very first UFC ever. And have watched every PPV since. I remember Patrick Smith, the original Royce Gracie, Manny Yarborough, and tons of others that made it a few years here and there. The american Ninja guy from, like, UFC 3, who got his buttox whooped in 12 seconds. I loved the olden days as well, when the rules were a little less stringent. However, those 5 minute grappling matches would get old between Gracie and Shamrock.

Well, it started when Timmay had the belt and no one was challenging him. Randy knew he could win so he came and took the belt. Up until Brock Randy was walking through the guys. Brock was just bigger and Nog is just more well rounded and bigger. I think it was more of a personal test than anything. Not to mention that is where the money was for him!! I think after the loss to Nog, we will see him drop to 205 and fight some big fights.