UFC 102 Recap - Nogueira Puts Couture on the Brink

Nogueira Now Waits For Lesnar-Carwin Winner

Randy “The Natural” Couture is contracted for six more fights in the UFC, but that could very well change given his loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by decision on Saturday night. Nogueira fought a great fight, standing toe-to-toe with the living legend and countering every stiffening blow with a counter-punch of his own. The third round was the most telling of the fight, as Nogueira withstood a hurricane of fury from “The Natural” and then ended the momentum with a huge punch that knocked Couture down.

The Brazilian has notched a victory over one of the UFC’s greatest, and now stands in line to make an improbable comeback. A lot of the critics, including yours truly, had pegged Nogueira to fail in this match, but he proved all of us wrong by dominating the fight against Couture.

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Classy in defeat, Couture quickly gave props to Nogueira and talked about his love for the sport. Though 16-10, Couture is still one of the main attractions in the UFC because of his undying appreciation for his competitors. The praise that Couture gave Nogueira could very well fuel a matchup between the victor of Lesnar-Carwin at UFC 104 and the suddenly resurrected Nogueira.

Thiago Silva Returns To Prominence

Silva was once the heir apparent in his division, and Keith Jardine was supposed to shut him down permanently. However, Silva silenced his critics in 95 seconds flat as he nailed Jardine with kicks and then secured the win with an uppercut that essentially put Jardine in a daze. Silva pounced on an incapacitated Jardine, and the referee was forced to save Jardine’s life.

The fight puts Silva back on the momentum train after he was outclassed by light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. He still has a ways to go before he can challenge the champion, but a victory over one of the division’s mainstays is a step in the right direction.

Don’t worry, Jardine fans. The Ugliest Man In Fighting will be back. He just needs some time to lick his wounds underneath a bridge somewhere.

Marquardt One-Punches Way To Victory

The mystery surrounding jiu-jitsu master Demian Maia unraveled in a hurry. We all wondered if Maia’s punishing ground game would ever be complemented by a stand up attack, and Nate “The Great” Marquardt didn’t give us a chance to see the results. One punch and 21-seconds is all it took to bring down Maia who will have a long road back if he even thinks he’s good enough to strike in the UFC again. The win puts Nate’s name in the hat to face Anderson Silva, and if he gets that rematch then he’s going to need more than a single punch.

The Polish Experiment Loses To Vera

In the worst fight of the night, Vera beat Soszynski by points. It was disappointing for fans of the Polish powerhouse, who is a fan favorite in the undercard, because it could’ve pushed him to the next level. However, it was also a stark reminder of why the MMA betting community hates Brandon Vera so much. He evaded and ran from any conflict in the fight, and played defense nearly the entire time. The win did nothing to increase Vera’s stock, and that’s a damn good thing. Vera’s a waste of TV time in my opinion.

Soszynski career is still young and he has much to learn, but getting outclassed by Vera will put his progress on the back burner for now.