Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira left a lot of questions unanswered in the wake of his UFC 92 loss to Frank Mir. He had been dominated in his defeat to Mir and in the process suffered the first stoppage of his career. After the fight it was revealed that hed suffered from a staph infection during training, severe enough to land him in the hospital for five days. He insisted that the loss was entirely attributable to his illness. At UFC 102 from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, Big Nog made a compelling case that his loss to Mir was a definite aberration. Nogueira dominated a determined Randy Couture over three rounds, en route to a unanimous decision victory over the UFC Hall of Famer. Nogueiras decisive victory culminated the UFCs first ever event in the Pacific Northwest and after a bit of hand wringing over slow ticket sales the show came off very well on PPV.
Nogueira entered the arena first to his usual entrance music of Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones. He received a respectful welcome from the Rose City crowd, but nothing like the rousing ovation afforded local hero Couture. Couture lived in suburban Gresham, Oregon for a number of years and trained at Team Quest before leaving to start Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Hes still a beloved figure in the Portland area, and his wide grin during Bruce Buffers introductions give the impression that he still has a lot of affection for his former hometown.
Despite the lopsided outcome of the fight, The Natural gave his fans plenty to cheer about. Though hes no longer able to outwork opponents and earn victories, hes still an amazing physical specimen for a 46 year old man. Furthermore, he still has the amazing toughness and resilience that made him a legend. He was knocked down twice, and came close to being choked out in each of the three rounds.
Couture in no way embarrassed himself, but he never really threatened Nogueira either. The former PRIDE heavyweight champion looked every bit his old self, displaying a formidable standup game to compliment his top of the food chain groundfighting and submission skills.
In the co-main event, Thiago Silva demonstrated why hes considered among the most underrated fighters in mixed martial arts as he dismantled Keith Jardine. Silva perfectly countered one of Jardines kicks with a nasty straight right hand to end the fight early in the first round.
Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.
Related posts:
- Strikeforce Signs Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza The San Jose, CA based Strikeforce MMA promotion recently announced...
- 5 Fighters To Beat Brock Lesnar Following Brock Lesnar's UFC 100 victory over Frank Mir, many...
- Cris Cyborg Mauls Gina Carano In Strikeforce Women’s Championship Match Gina Carano put womens MMA on the map, but Cris...
- Sports Betting Champ Review Today I am going to be speaking about an eBook...
- St. Pierre vs. Silva: Potential Reality or a Dream? There seem to be a few great MMA fights each...
Comments on this entry are closed.