UFC 102 Couture VS Nogueira review

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- Randy Couture VS Antonio Nogueira

- Keith Jardine VS Thiago Silva

Though many may consider men who enter an mma proving ground little more than hired human pitbulls ripping each other apart for massive money and radical amusement, I tend to reject this view via a yawn of black hole, concluding that professional level mma is the combat of highly disciplined human spirits, opposing each other for but the duration of the bout, probably ending up as unified in the process as we could conceive, simply through their magnificent shared experience of being in a cage where the damage one suffers is the wit one failed to exhibit. That is how, in my opinion, the mma fighter fights against herself/himself. The reaction of one's opponent is the reaction to whatever one could offer as offense.

Notice that the ultimately glorious moments of mixed martial arts are not of those of KOs and submissions. They are of those of hugging the formal rival at the end of the bout, circulating the most honest, pure respect spirit and related (?) intelligence may come upon, the limitless respect each fighter deserves simply by making an attempt of expressing themselves thoroughly, honestly on the proving grounds. The biggest respect one could give is the assumption that one needs every skills- and wits to neutralize the rival. A fight is nothing less than the expression of these skill sets, put though to the test utterly and completely, instead of infinitely theorizing about them. The most glorious moment of the bout emerges in the form of the ensuing peace between the fighters, a legit, palpable sensation, unifying the former enemies and the grateful audience once the collision reached its conclusion.

This is a review of the latest UFC event to date, UFC 102 - Couture VS Nogueira.



Introductory thoughts about the more significant lineups

There is no doubt that Randy Couture has solidified himself as a navigational beacon of mixed martial arts and citing his age starts to become a household cliche. Couture silenced critics on numerous occasions already, triumphing over stronger- younger opposition in matches where many have considered him to be the epitome of underdog. The Natural's strong wrestling background, trademark dirty boxing style and charismatic, disciplined personality define a veteran warrior with a competitive spirit that seems to exhibit intact desire to collide with opposition.

Randy, coming off an eventual defeat against current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, delivered a disciplined and quite competent performance against the much bigger and considerably younger man, an accomplishment Couture hopes to bring to victorious fruition this time around. His current opponent, Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira, as legendary of a mixed martial artist as Couture is, needs to offer a spectacular performance against Randy, as the Brazilian suffered a memorable defeat by his previous opponent, Frank Mir. Mir managed to take Minotauro apart without the Brazilian finding chance to offer notable resistance, leading many to ask if the wars "Big Nog" have fought have finally caught up with him.

There was a time when a collision between Randy Couture and Antonio Nogueira was considered to be the most exquisite match the sport could have produce, as Couture and Nogueira were delivering exceptional performances on opposite ends of the globe.
Though many do claim that the match should have been organized when both warriors seemed to be unstoppable, their recent defeats may serve as motivation to take extra risks for a memorable victory.

UFC 102 brings rather strong co-main events as additions to the central showdown. Efficient knockout artist Thiago Silva comes to claim relief for the recent loss he have suffered against Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida. With only this particular loss under his belt, Silva promises to stop "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine, who is one of the most unorthodox fighters of present day mma. Though Keith is notorious of his ability to cause upsets, he seems to have a problem to remain consistent, often suffering a devastating defeat after a significant victory.

Fluent muscle machine Nate "The Great" Marquardt is back to collide against Jiu-Jitsu notability Demian Maia. Coming to this bout with his exceptional talent on the ground, it is no secret that Maia wants to take this fight downstairs as soon as possible, while Nate will be content on keeping it on the feet.

Brandon Vera VS Krzysztof Soszynski

Vera was a rising star for a certain period, yet this star lost significant amount of its brightness via the recent performances it brought to the Octagon. As result of a less rigorous training regime and a lifestyle centering around myriad variations of fun, talented Brandon had a hard time pulling the trigger. Vera states that he is aware of his unsatisfactory performances and now he is ready to prove himself against steep competition. His opponent, Krysztof Soszynski is a perfect candidate for this. As a fresh addition to the rankings, Ultimate Fighter prospect Soszynski had cut through initial opposition as knife through butter, now he needs to evidentiate if he is able to give a fight-, let alone a loss for a fighter of Vera's caliber.

It is clear that he is not yet able to do so. Brandon Vera commands the fight with intact technical superiority right from the start, giving no opportunity to Soszynski to connect with those heavy hands. The meeting showcases Vera's ability of remaining steadily consistent as the superior technician, while the night serves a great opportunity for Soszynski to evaluate what areas he needs to work on, as he has been clearly outclassed tonight by a fighter who plays the game on a more involved level already.

Demian Maia VS Nate Marquardt

One punch of stopping power put an end to this contest before the first minute of the meeting could have a chance to slip by. Marquardt catches Maia as the
Jiu-Jitsu master tries to throw a kick. Though the impact is tremendous, Maia shows spectacular tenaciousness, recovering in seconds. These seconds of recovery were given to him by none other than his opponent, though. Nate "The Great" Marquardt reveals beautiful sportsmanship, showing mercy to Maia by not assaulting him during the brief period when he - Maia - is unable to defend himself after the stunning blow that knocked him down.



Chris Leben VS Jake Rosholt

Jake Rosholt does a decent job at frustrating heavy hitter hometown favorite Chris Leben by giving solid competition in the standup, even claiming dominant ground positions throughout the first two rounds. Though the standup exchanges do deliver more and more excitement as Leben tries to turn the heat on, Rosholt proves to be skilled enough on the feet to remain in the game throughout an intense second round with increased level of passion present in it. This trademark passion of the hometown favorite does not arrive to victorious fruition this time around, as Chris finds himself getting choked out in the final segment of this memorable meeting.

Todd Duffee VS Tim Hague

Todd Duffee sets a new UFC record, knocking out Tim Hague in no more than seven seconds.

Keith Jardine VS Thiago Silva

UFC 102 delivers yet another rapid showdown, as Thiago Silva knocks Jardine out at 1:35 of the first round.

Randy Couture VS Antonio Nogueira

Following his devastating defeat to Frank Mir, Minotauro comes back to the Octagon as a resurrected warrior, ready to showcase- and even to redefine the qualities that made him an illustrious notability of the sport. Nogueira is more than ready to slug it out with Couture on the feet, getting the better of the exchanges each time the collision invites fists to ignite.

The Brazilian drops Couture on multiple occasions during the bout, even coming close to finishing the legendary hometown favorite off with solid ground and pound work in the second segment of the meeting. Nogueria takes every opportunity to offer a submission attempt on the ground. Though Randy is able to survive downstairs, the only moments he shows offensive success by, are some accurate punches landing on Rodrigo, who comes forward after these precise, powerful strikes like nothing would have happened. At the end of the third round, with a desperate Couture trying to improve on a temporary dominant position, it is clear that the Minotauro the audience hoped to see have came back and he proved to be way too much for Randy Couture this time. A spectacular performance from Nogueira, revealing the results of top level human discipline and spiritual maturity. This is a match chronicling the comeback- the resurrection of the Minotauro. The Minotauro rivals do fear of, the Minotauro who eyes Brock Lesnar now.











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