View Full Version : Ufc 102
OK UFC 102 is just around the corner and I've been waiting for someone else to post a thread cos I am a lazy lazy man. But alas no one else has. I like the card, no big draws but I find it very interesting. So many fights are real hard to pick.
Main card
* Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira:- Give the edge to Randy due to his sub D and ability where Nog wants to take the fight. Would have been epic 2 years ago but still worth some nostalgic interest. Depends who's aged better.
* Light Heavyweight bout: Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva:- Interesing fight. Silva has the ground game and Jardine has the stand up plan. I think Thiago takes it though but it could go either way.
* Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt:- What I've seen of Rosholt (outside his miller fight) he's been good. Leben hasn't convinced me yet, his wrestling isn't that great and relies on to much of what he has too little of, his stand up. Still tough to call, but I'm going with Rosholt.
* Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia:- Wow. Marquardt is a great fighter, but I'm going the underdog here. I just like Maia.
* Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski:- Vera should win but is no certainty. If Vera turns out his best he'll kill Kristov but his problem is if the other dude can take his best and doesn't fold imediately he breaks mentally. Soszynski has a real shot here.
Preliminary card
* Middleweight bout: Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson:- Simpson I know little about, and this would be Herman's first last shot.
* Heavyweight bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer:- GOnzaga WTF? Know nothing about Tuscherer. Has a record of 17-1
* Heavyweight bout: Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow:- Guess
* Heavyweight bout: Tim Hague vs. Todd Duffee:- Guess
* Middleweight bout: Nick Catone vs. s Mark Muñoz: Guess
RobbyRoy
24 Aug 2009, 21:31
OK UFC 102 is just around the corner and I've been waiting for someone else to post a thread cos I am a lazy lazy man. But alas no one else has. I like the card, no big draws but I find it very interesting. So many fights are real hard to pick.
I was doing the exact same thing so good on you for getting it done :thumbsu:
Main card
* Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira:- Nog looks in really good shape but who the hell knows? I'm not really interested in this at all at this point in time. Couture to get the decision.
* Light Heavyweight bout: Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva:- I know Jardine managed to avoid any big shots from Chuck, Vera and Rampage, but for some reason I see him being caught by a big Thiago shot and being finished on the ground.
* Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt:- This is Leben's to lose. I think he stops Rosholt on the ground but it'll probably be a pretty lacklustre decision.
* Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia:- I'm a huge fan of both but I think Marquardt will have enough to win the decision. Maia had a lot of difficulty putting McDonald away on the ground and I think Marquardt can avoid the subs and try and keep it standing.
* Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski:- Agree with Drew's thoughts.
Preliminary card
* Middleweight bout: Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson:- Herman can't lose this and you wouldn't think he would.
* Heavyweight bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer:- Besides a win over Travis Fulton I see nothing on Tuchescherer's record that says he will last long with Gonzaga. Sub 1st.
* Heavyweight bout: Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow:- Dunno much about Russow but McCully has some talent. Sub 2nd.
* Heavyweight bout: Tim Hague vs. Todd Duffee:- Never seen either fight
* Middleweight bout: Nick Catone vs.Mark Muñoz: Meh
Shit card IMO.
I was hoping to start this thread this morning but got caught up with work all day.
Main card
* Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira - styles can make fights and I would have backed Randy here even before Nog's loss to Mir. I think he's going to batter Nog pretty badly, a TKO win if Nog's chin is as gone as the Mir loss suggested or a decision otherwise. Hope I'm wrong though and Nog can put up a good fight as he's probably the only heavyweight fighter that I like even more than Randy.
* Light Heavyweight bout: Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva - bit of a toss-up as always with a Jardine fight. He could probably beat Anderson Silva one day and get knocked stupid by Urijah Faber the next. Thiago's never really impressed me though, some powerful ground and pound but he hasn't shown much else, going with the Dean by TKO
* Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt - Rosholt's being thrown to the wolves here, he's an excellent wrestler but he's shown an inability to avoid being smashed in the face in the couple of fights I've seen of him, and Leben's one of the few guys in MMA you don't want to get hit flush on the jaw by.
* Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia - can't wait for this fight, Nate's easily the better striker and is the more well-rounded fighter but Maia's BJJ is probably the best the UFC has ever seen. He's shown an excellent ability to get the fight to the ground in all of his fights so far, he threw down Sonnen with ease and I'd say Sonnen's got better wrestling credentials than Nate, my tip might be coming from the heart than the head but I'm hoping to see Maia pull off another slick triangle or RNC here
* Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski - Vera's starting to look comfortable at LHW and IMO is a level above anyone Krzysztof has ever beaten in the past, Vera by TKO
Preliminary card
* Middleweight bout: Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson - Not sure what the A-Train's sub defense is like but he hits like a mini-Carwin and if he doesn't get subbed I think he'll blast Herman here
* Heavyweight bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer - on paper it should be Gabe's fight to lose but he can't afford to take Tuchscherer lightly
* Heavyweight bout: Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow - I see this as almost a toss-up fight so I'm a bit surprised that McCully is around $3.00 to win this, Russow has a sub win against Roman Zentsov but not much else, McCully at those odds might be worth a play
* Heavyweight bout: Tim Hague vs. Todd Duffee - Duffee doesn't have the hype that Velasquez or Carwin had going in but I've heard he's got a bit to him, he TKO'd Assuerio Silva last year to earn a UFC contract
* Middleweight bout: Nick Catone vs. Mark Muñoz - Munoz by TKO to start his middleweight career
* Lightweight bout: Marcus Aurelio vs. Evan Dunham - Drew somehow missed this fight, Aurelio's not a top-level fighter but Dunham's gone from having Matt Veach as an opponent to Aurelio, which seems pretty rough, Aurelio takes this by sub
Main card
* Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira:- Also going Randy here. This fight is obviously past its time, but I can't see how Nog can win. If this fight took place in the Pride ring anytime up to around 2006, I would have picked Nog but the cage is built for Randy's style and I think even though Randy is 46, in 'MMA-years' Minotauro is at least twice as old. Randy by TKO or Decision. I just hope it's a close fight and Nog can show something, because recently he has just looked old and slow, which is a shame as the newer fans wont be able to get a taste of how good he can be.
* Light Heavyweight bout: Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva:- Thiago will rebond I think, although it could be tough as Jardine with his 'herky jerky style' (had to say that!) is a strange one to gameplan for. Could easily go either way.
* Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt:- I think I agree with Drew here. Leben needs to evolve a little to stay relevent, but I reckon Rosholt's wrestling will give him the edge. Only if Leben lands a big bomb will he prevail here, so I'll play the percentages and go Rosholt by D.
* Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia:- I really like both these guys, but I think Nate has the tools to avoid Maia's ground game and keep it standing for a TKO or decision. It would be cool also to see Maia get another sub, but Nate by just being more well rounded and hard nosed. Tough to pick that one.
* Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski:- We all know Vera has the ability, but weather he can execute the gameplan is another thing. I think Krzysztof is a good prospect and has the runs on the board (more fights than Vera), but Vera has faced the better competition in his career. Vera by D or tko.
Preliminary card
* Middleweight bout: Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson:- Herman I reckon. Close one though.
* Heavyweight bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer:- Gonzaga, but dropping some coin on Tuchscherer could pay, he's a vast undeserved underdog, and may pose problems to Gonzaga who hates being roughed up.
* Heavyweight bout: Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow:- Russow's only loss was to Sergei, and since has been on a tear, so I'll take him to defeat the "American Fedor" in McCully.
* Heavyweight bout: Tim Hague vs. Todd Duffee:- I'm taking Duffee here who supposedly is doing well, and he trains with ATT, who are a tough lot.
* Middleweight bout: Nick Catone vs. s Mark Muñoz:- Must win for both of these. Munoz supposedly was a good up and comer so I'll take him to get back on the W list. He'll use his wrestling and avoid subs to take a D.
also, Marcus Aurelio vs. Evan Dunham is another fight announced, in which I'll take Aurelio, hopefully he can return to the UFC well with a win, and add some much needed BJJ depth at LW.
RobbyRoy
25 Aug 2009, 22:40
* Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia - can't wait for this fight, Nate's easily the better striker and is the more well-rounded fighter but Maia's BJJ is probably the best the UFC has ever seen. He's shown an excellent ability to get the fight to the ground in all of his fights so far, he threw down Sonnen with ease and I'd say Sonnen's got better wrestling credentials than Nate, my tip might be coming from the heart than the head but I'm hoping to see Maia pull off another slick triangle or RNC here
If Maia does to Marquardt anything like what he did Sonnen, he will immediately jump right to number one in my favourite fighters list.
Todd_Gack
26 Aug 2009, 17:18
If Maia does to Marquardt anything like what he did Sonnen, he will immediately jump right to number one in my favourite fighters list.
Do you not like Marquardt or do you just want to see another teabagging?
RobbyRoy
26 Aug 2009, 22:24
Do you not like Marquardt or do you just want to see another teabagging?
No I would just be that impressed because Marquardt is a damn good fighter.
RobbyRoy
29 Aug 2009, 18:48
Are there any reliable streams out there? Usually I just spend the whole time watching events switching between streams as they keep f***ing up.
RobbyRoy
30 Aug 2009, 15:12
Pretty good event that one. Nog/Couture was awesome. Nog looked back to something near his best so maybe the Mir fight was just a fluke. I can't believe Randy is 46 years old, it's ridiculous. I know 46 year olds who can barely jog and this guys fighting other guys professionally. Great effort from him but he was beaten fairly well.
I sat through the tedious Vera/Soz fight only for the stream to cut out just as Marquardt dominated Maia. From the replays it seems Maia's striking still needs a lot of work contrary to what we heard from his camp. I wouldn't mind seeing Marquardt taking on Hendo next, either for a title shot or for the vacated title.
Gotta feel bad for Jardine with that chin. It's not quite as bad as Arlovski but Jardine has the tools to be a really good fighter, but that chin has held him back big time.
great event. Most of the fights went close to how I expected, but there was the odd suprise. Nog being the biggest (and best) of them.
Nog looked almost as good as his Pride days. Randy brought it, looked in great shape, hit him with some good shots, but Nog fired back and got the better of the standing... but the ground is where we really saw vintage Nog. His BJJ was just sublime and took apart a veteran in Randy who is well schooled in grappling. If Lesnar thinks his BJJ classes can prapare him for a guy like Nog on the ground, he might learn a lesson in tapping.
Just looked in great shape and was focused, and fit. Good to see.
I have no doubt if that nog turned up, he'd have monstered Mir. A rematch would be excellent. Still think he's probably past his prime to take on Lesnar, but it makes things interesting. Props also to Randy who showed a huge amount of heart, good standup technique, excellent submission defense and threw almost all the tricks he could at Nog. Definately still showed that he can remain a hard match for anyone. Cro Cop, JDS, Mir, Kongo, Herring would all be good matches to get Randy back on track. Even LHW matches would be good.
All in all a truly epic heavyweight matchup that lived up to the hype and more. FOTY contender for me.
Nog certainly proved the doubters (including me) that he's not ready to go out quite yet. At 32-5, he really is one of the best of all time.
Pretty good event that one. Nog/Couture was awesome. Nog looked back to something near his best so maybe the Mir fight was just a fluke. I can't believe Randy is 46 years old, it's ridiculous. I know 46 year olds who can barely jog and this guys fighting other guys professionally. Great effort from him but he was beaten fairly well.
I sat through the tedious Vera/Soz fight only for the stream to cut out just as Marquardt dominated Maia. From the replays it seems Maia's striking still needs a lot of work contrary to what we heard from his camp. I wouldn't mind seeing Marquardt taking on Hendo next, either for a title shot or for the vacated title.
Gotta feel bad for Jardine with that chin. It's not quite as bad as Arlovski but Jardine has the tools to be a really good fighter, but that chin has held him back big time.
Agree with all this.
Vinnie Vegas
1 Sep 2009, 10:18
I sat through the tedious Vera/Soz fight only for the stream to cut out just as Marquardt dominated Maia. From the replays it seems Maia's striking still needs a lot of work contrary to what we heard from his camp. I wouldn't mind seeing Marquardt taking on Hendo next, either for a title shot or for the vacated title.
It's not even really fair to say he "dominated" him - I think that implies a sustained beatdown where Maia had numerous cracks and they didn't work.
He just walked in, tried to throw a kick, Marquardt saw it coming, stepped around it, and knocked him the f**k out. Unless Maia finds a way to get fights started on the ground, this kind of thing is going to remain a possibility in every fight.
I agree though - Marquardt/Henderson would be sweet.
Nog looked almost as good as his Pride days. Randy brought it, looked in great shape, hit him with some good shots, but Nog fired back and got the better of the standing... but the ground is where we really saw vintage Nog. His BJJ was just sublime and took apart a veteran in Randy who is well schooled in grappling.
It really did show why Randy Couture has never been submitted though - If you don't get submitted by BJJ like that, then you're probably not ever going to be submitted.
It really did show why Randy Couture has never been submitted though - If you don't get submitted by BJJ like that, then you're probably not ever going to be submitted.
Randy has been submitted, just not in the UFC. Mikhail Illoukhine, Enson and Valentijn Overeem have all subbed him, but that was way back in 1999-2000.
His sub D is now substantially better though and showed as Nog is extremely crafty with his submissions.
It was a great fight.
Randy was brave but was completely dominated by Nog in a supreme performance. Randy landed a few good blows but was a miracle he was not finished via sub or TKO. Brilliant fight, but unfortunately for Randy he spent a majority of it desperately trying to avoid it ending prematurely.
Will Nog's next fight now be Velasquez, with the winner to fight for the title against either Lesnar or Carwin (Lesnar most likely)? Assuming Nog is fit and healthy (ie was far from it against Mir) he showed in Portland he is not far from a deserved title shot.
What the hell was Maia thinking at the start of that fight? For arguably the best BJJ in the sport to be so wreckless so early was akin to playing Russian roulette against as good a striker as Marquardt. It was almost like he had bought into his camp's pre-fight spin about how improved his stand up was. Got brought back down to reality very quickly. Was great also to see Nate not throw another punch when he realized Maia was out and defenseless.
Dana has a bit of a mess to sort out at 185. Silva only wants big fights, thinks this will happen at 205, and doesn't really want a Hendo rematch. Hendo wants to fight Silva for the 185 title, and if that doesn't happen has hinted at moving to 205 for a "challenge". Whilst making up their mind, and giving Anderson a break, Silva's camp is pitching Hendo vs Marquardt to determine his true 185 number one contender.
Jardine may be tough and unorthadox, but with a chin like his he is far from elite. Easy night's work for Thiago.
Leben is massively overrated as a fighter IMO, never been a fan and was very happy to see Rosholt put him to sleep.
What's the mail on Duffee? Can't judge too much from his left jab 7 second knockout but he looks big, strong, very hungry and is only 23. Does he have any ground skills?
Vinnie Vegas
1 Sep 2009, 14:31
Randy has been submitted, just not in the UFC. Mikhail Illoukhine, Enson and Valentijn Overeem have all subbed him, but that was way back in 1999-2000.
His sub D is now substantially better though and showed as Nog is extremely crafty with his submissions.
It was a great fight.
Yeah - I did mean in the UFC. He's fought some good-to-excellent submission fighters, like Nog, Gonzaga, Van Arsdale, Rodriguez and Barnett, so it's a pretty good achievement nonetheless.
Vinnie Vegas
1 Sep 2009, 14:41
What's the mail on Duffee? Can't judge too much from his left jab 7 second knockout but he looks big, strong, very hungry and is only 23. Does he have any ground skills?
Yeah - Duffee had to be one of the stories of the night. I don't care who the opposition is, or how lucky the punch might have been, or even the fact that he didn't have to show any skills: The fastest knock-out in UFC history in your UFC debut pretty much announces you on the scene as well as you can.
I want to see him get a good fighter next up - Really give him a solid run. Someone like Heath Herring or Gabriel Gonzaga. The UFC Heavyweight division needs some new blood, so they might as well throw him in the deep end and see if he can swim.
Agree VV. Heath Herring would be a great fight. Tough, durable, a veteran who can take a beating. GG would also be good, but might lack the heart as a few solid shots can soften him right up.
Out of interest, Dwayne 'bang' Ludwig has the fastest KO in UFC history except the clock wasn't correctly timed so it is unofficial. Its on one of the early ultimate fight night cards, I think fight night 4 or 3... he Ko'd Goulet in about 4 seconds, you can count it from the bell to Goulet being KO'd!
RobbyRoy
1 Sep 2009, 16:29
I was just going to bring up the Ludwig/Goulet fight. What happened there? It was clearly only a few seconds but it not got changed.
Main event was a tremendous battle. Nog was still getting tagged too much and against somebody like Carwin or Lesnar he may have went down but at least he wasn't anywhere near as lethargic as he was against Mir. Surprised that Nog was able to dominate Randy on the ground, thought Randy's wrestling, strength and sub defense would be enough to control him from the top but I guess that shows why BJJ is so great.
Pretty devastating loss for Jardine, maybe a rematch with Forrest coming up to get one of them back on track? Silva vs Vera would be a pretty decent fight coming out of this show.
Spectacular KO for Nate but I'm a bit disappointed with how quickly it was over as I was really looking forward to seeing how he fared on the ground against Maia and vice versa.
Add Duffee to the list of talented and huge heavyweights coming through the UFC. After TUF the heavyweight division is going to be packed with these monsters. Randy's suggested he'll probably move back to LHW and it's the right time as he's giving up way too much size these days.
Vinnie Vegas
5 Sep 2009, 08:03
GG would also be good, but might lack the heart as a few solid shots can soften him right up.
Still, if Duffee had a first round knockout against Gonzaga, it would be pretty impressive.
daicos21
8 Sep 2009, 19:41
Yeah - Duffee had to be one of the stories of the night. I don't care who the opposition is, or how lucky the punch might have been, or even the fact that he didn't have to show any skills: The fastest knock-out in UFC history in your UFC debut pretty much announces you on the scene as well as you can.
I want to see him get a good fighter next up - Really give him a solid run. Someone like Heath Herring or Gabriel Gonzaga. The UFC Heavyweight division needs some new blood, so they might as well throw him in the deep end and see if he can swim.
Duffee might be a prospect,he might not.But all we learned from this fight was that Hague can't even take a jab.
daicos21
8 Sep 2009, 19:44
Agree VV. Heath Herring would be a great fight. Tough, durable, a veteran who can take a beating. GG would also be good, but might lack the heart as a few solid shots can soften him right up.
Out of interest, Dwayne 'bang' Ludwig has the fastest KO in UFC history except the clock wasn't correctly timed so it is unofficial. Its on one of the early ultimate fight night cards, I think fight night 4 or 3... he Ko'd Goulet in about 4 seconds, you can count it from the bell to Goulet being KO'd!
Shame about GG,has all the natural tools but lacking between the ears.
Looks like Todd Duffee will fight again in December on the UFC 107 card, no info on who he is fighting yet.
Looking forward to see what this kid has in the tank, hopefully he it pitted against someone that will actually test him this time.
Main card
* Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira - This fight was one for the fans. Two MMA legends and it delivered big time! But despite a brave effort by Randy, he was pretty much dominated by Nog. Clearly Nog was way out of shape when he was smashed by Frank Mir and this was the real Nog that we saw against Couture. As for Randy, I think we can safely say now that he will never hold the HW title belt again.
* Light Heavyweight bout: Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva - I was a bit surprised some tipped Jardine. Thiago Silva is a terrific fighter, who has only lost one fight and that was to Machida. Solid win by him here.
* Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt - I'm still disgusted that drug cheat Leben is back in the UFC again so soon and I was delighted to see him lose in front of his home fans. Well done, Rosholt, a good win.
* Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia - Like many, I was really looking forward to this fight and it was a shame it was over so soon. I don't think you can read too much into it when a guy gets knocked out that quickly. It's not a convincing win; it's not a domination, it's just a lucky punch. Still, it's another W for Marquardt and he's surely worthy of another shot at Anderson Silva's belt now.
* Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski - Vera looked sharp in his victory over the improving Soszynski. Just too classy.
Preliminary card
* Middleweight bout: Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson - Tough bit of luck for Herman but a brave performance by Simpson.
* Heavyweight bout: Tim Hague vs. Todd Duffee - As with the KO of Maia, you can't read too much into Duffee's victory IMO.
* Lightweight bout: Marcus Aurelio vs. Evan Dunham - A good win by Dunham in front of his home fans. I don't think he's ever going to worry the top lightweights, though.
daicos21
30 May 2010, 15:43
Duffee might be a prospect,he might not.But all we learned from this fight was that Hague can't even take a jab.
People should not get impressed so easily.