("Big Nog" is back following a convincing win over Randy Couture. Photo by Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com)
To say I was a little bit off on the main event (among other fights) on Saturday night would be an understatement. One of the major pitfalls of the the typical sports fan is that they judge athletes or teams on an anecdotal basis rather than look at the big picture. I'm embarrassed to say that I fell into that trap when analyzing the Couture/Nogueria bout.
Judging by their last performances it appeared that the careers of these fighters were going in completely opposite directions. Against Frank Mir, Nogueria looked to be a shell of his former self, getting dropped my multiple shots that the fighter of old would have walked through. Couture on the other hand not only showed that he could still hang with the current crop of top level fighters, but that he may be improving. This became my basis for looking at how this particular bout would pan out. Forget the reports that Nogueria suffered from staph and a torn meniscus before the Mir, those were nothing more than post-fight excuses in my eyes. The wear and tear of over 35 wars had finally caught up to the once great Pride champ. Randy was going to impose his will and dominate "Minotauro" with heavy top control and almost at will takedowns.
Wrong. Oh wow was that wrong.
Nogueria not only showed that he still has his trademark iron chin, but his legendary ground skills are still effective, even against a world class wrestler like Couture. There were a minimum of 3 times in the fight where I was thought "It's over" and "Wow, I really need to work on my fight analysis". From his back, Nogueria swept Couture into mount like he was rolling with a white belt back in Brazil. And Ron Frazier (Couture's boxing coach), how about Randy's superior boxing skills? "Big Nog" completely outclassed Randy on the feet, dropping him several times and leading to several near finishes.
Not to take anything away from Couture's performance; he showed tremendous heart and resiliency by escaping several submission attempts and nearly being finished by strikes in the third round. This was a Chuck Liddell/Wanderlei Silva-esque war between two legends of the sport giving it everything for the fans, trying to prove that they are still relevant in the game. It was a special fight that more than lived up to the hype it received. Couture simply appeared to be a bad stylistic match-up against the BJJ specialist. Too bad I couldn't figure that one out until after seeing Nogueria's return to form at the end of the night.
My Picks Results - 7-4 (2-3 Main Card)
Where I was right
- Brandon Vera did exactly what I expected him to do against Krzysztof Soszynski. He came out and picked his opponent apart, and did it in extremely lackluster fashion. He appears to be gun shy as far as getting inside and showcasing his muay thai after being hurt in previous fights. It's going to be interesting to see what happens when someone brings the fight to him without gassing like Soszynski.
- Todd Duffee hits hard. 7 second KO hard. Granted, Tim Hague was going to be knocked out at some point anyway because he doesn't move around and just takes shots from his oppoents, but Duffee basically ended the fight with his first punch. Welcome to the age of gigantic heavyweights.
- I thought Nate Marquardt would win, but to dominate in the fashion he did was extremely impressive. Hell, he even made SportsCenter's top ten for his knockout that separated Demian Maia from the laws of gravity. Will he beat Anderson Silva like he said he would after the fight? Probably not. Definitely makes the rematch more interesting though.
Where I was wrong
- Note to self: Awkward does not equal effective. All it took for me to learn this was Keith Jardine being added to Thiago Silva's highlight reel. Watching Jardine in that fight was like watching a monkey have a seizure while trying to knock out a high level striker. Note to Keith: If you're opponent has serious KO power, try not to throw uppercuts you learned from video games.
- Ever see a fighter that looked gassed out before the opening bell? That's what Chris Leben looked like against Jake Rosholt. Yes, he was probably ahead or even going into the third round, but watching the fight you just got the feeling it was only a matter of time before Rosholt took him down and ended it. Leben is of the mindset that if he can't hit you, it's you running away and not him telegraphing wild, looping hooks. Not really sure what the UFC can do with him now after this somewhat embarrassing loss following a steroid suspension. Big ups to Rosholt for showing he's got some decent submission skills to go with his wrestling.
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