The Aftermath – UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera

UFC 102 was undoubtedly one of the best cards of the year. We saw the battle of legends as Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro Noguiera proved that his loss to Frank Mir may have been a fluke as he won a unanimous decision over Randy Couture in a war. Besides that, Thiago Silva resumed his winning ways, Brandon Vera continued to bore us, Nate Marquart shut his critics up and we caught a glimpse of what could be the future as Todd Duffee and Jake Rosholt made huge impacts with stellar victories, the latter an unprecedented 7 second knockout. Let’s see what the FightGameBloggers had to say…

Duan
Thumbs Up
Best Fight – Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera
Worst Fight – Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

A really good main event to round off a solid night of fights. I said going into this show that I felt both Randy and Nog needed to retire, and nothing I saw tonight has changed my perception on that. Both guys really gave it their all and it turned out to be a super dramatic fight. However, I still thought they both looked really old in there. I share Alan’s concern about one of them getting hurt. The movement just isn’t there, reflexes are gone, and they are worryingly easy to hit. These are not things that can be fixed, and I am not eager to see either one matched up with a top young fighter.

I have always thought that Marquardt has the best chance of beating Silva out of the current crop of 185 pounders. He has come on a lot as a fighter since his last title shot, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what he can do differently this time around.

Big D
Thumbs WAY Up
Best Fight: Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera
Worst Fight: Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

Without a doubt in my mind this show was one of the best MMA cards of the year. I truly believe people are going to be talking about the Couture/Noguiera war of attrition for years and years to come and the heart displayed by both men. Randy kept coming, but Nog was a better boxer and outclassed him on the ground. To me, this fight edged out Sanchez/Guida as the fight of the year. This put Nog back on track to facing Lesnar, but have no fear Randy fans, he just signed a 6 fight deal so he’ll be back sooner than later.

Jake Rosholt choking out Chris Leben was scary, as you see his body twitch and convulse. Thankfully he wasn’t hospitalized. As I expected, Silva knocked off Jardine, proving that his jaw is made of super-thin glass. In addition, Aaron Simpson looked impressive, but not quite as impressive as he should’ve. Also, NOBODY expected Maia to get planted like that, but he did! How about Todd Duffee huh? What a beast that guy is.

It’s been well documented that I hate Brandon Vera. He’s a poor excuse for a fighter, incredibly boring, stupid haggard tattoos, and has a mock-charisma that I can’t stand. I really wish he would get cut, but damn it he keeps on winning (in boring fashion). Let’s hope he goes right into the undercard.

Fun undercard full of awesome finishes and a classic main event!

Alan

Thumbs Up
Best Fight – Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera
Worst Fight – Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

Glad Nog won, but man those guys have like zero reflexes anymore. One of them is gonna get HURT soon. It’s unbelievable that Randy got 6 more fights after that.

Aaron Simpson is awesome. Been on his bandwagon for about a year now. He’s an incredibly dynamic athlete.

Weird show for some reason but overall enjoyable.

GG

Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera
Worst Fight: Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

The show started in a disappointing manner. Brandon Vera was technically good tonight in the opener, but he also fights very methodically which can make for a boring fight, from a guy who used to be exciting. Soszynski tried to pressure him, but Vera is a very good defensive fighter standing and just picked him apart and didn’t let himself get into any bad situations. I was disappointed in Maia who just got caught. Not that I didn’t want Marquardt to win, just that I wanted to see Maia grow and show off some skills. Then the show picked up.

Jake Rosholt showed some toughness by outlasting a game Chris Leben and Todd Duffee looked like a possible up and comer with his devastating knockout of Tim Hague. Aaron Simpson also looked great against Ed Herman, though he showed a hole in his ground and pound game by not being able to finish Herman off when he should’ve. Keith Jardine probably fought his way out of the main card for awhile. His chin looks extremely suspect now.

Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera vs. Randy Couture was simply the second greatest fight I’ve seen this year. Big Nog showed everyone that he still has something left in the tank and Couture didn’t quit. I’m a bit worried about Couture’s reflexes because he should’ve gotten out of the way of some of Big Nog’s punches, but Nog was technically perfect with many of those strikes. It was a tremendous fight from their stand-up work to Nog’s ground game, to Randy’s defensive ground game, to the wrestling war they had as well. All in all, a very good night of fights.

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