UFC 102 Couture vs Nogueira EDITED

[2009NBAChamps]

Man just watched the GG fight, oh dear lord that looked painful, I am shocked they let him continue, because clearly he had to get that checked out.

I hurt a little after that.

That was a ridiculous fight. I don't know wth they were thinking letting him continue after getting kicked that hard AND vomitting too. Also I thought the ref (Ives?) f*cked up bad not stopping it quicker. Dude's a warrior for sure, but if his kids come out deformed as a result of that kick I won't be surprised.

[Hilltop]

Shame the Maia fight ended so quickly. I was looking forward to seeing his jiu-jitsu in action but that never materialized. I found it pretty embarrassing actually.

[Hilltop]

quick thoughts...

Nog should fight Mir next and most definetly shouldn't get title shot.

Randy should retire or go to 205 and ONLY against select fighters who he stands a good chance of winning against.

6 fight contract for Randy? 48/49 yrs old

I agree. I say serve him up guys like Ortiz, Coleman, Wanderlei, Cro Cop etc. Veterans that would make for nice classic matches (which I can see him winning), but would pose little to no risk at tarnishing his 'legacy' if it went otherwise. One thing's for sure though, I don't wanna see Anderson embarrass him, and I don't wanna see some newbie/midcarder get a lucky shot on him and build off his name.

[damo[23]]

quick thoughts...

Nog should fight Mir next and most definetly shouldn't get title shot.

Randy should retire or go to 205 and ONLY against select fighters who he stands a good chance of winning against.

6 fight contract for Randy? 48/49 yrs old

ASilva vs random 205er or heavyweight.

Nate vs Hendo to decide 185 titleshot.

I wouldn't moan if Nog's next fight was a title shot. He did have the interim belt, he should have had his fight with Randy to combine the two belts, and its not like he was far out of the title equation in the first place. However, if he has to have another fight before then I would understand that to.

I do agree with Randy doing only selected fights from here on out. If he still tries to fight at the top in the HW division I do see him dropping a fair whack of his last few fights. I would like to see some of the "old timers" face off in what would be classic matches.

I do think Hendo takes the next title shot and Nate faces the winner, as good as Nate vs Hendo would be, I just think we have two great fights of Silva vs Hendo, and winner vs Nate, where as if we eliminate one, he has to spend another 6 to 8 months at least waiting for his title shot after impressive victories, and we see weaker guys getting a shot in the mean time.

[cowboyronnie]

I think Randy is pretty much done. He's an awesome fighter and the fight he put up was almost otherworldly for a man his age. He's starting to gas a lot quicker though, and I don't think his chin can take a lot more.

size is a factor, so a move to 205 would be interesting. his boxing movement is really good, but boxing is Nog's forte and Nog had a massive reach. that was a tough road to hoe. almost in 'bad match-up' territory.

[cowboyronnie]

I felt sympathy for Maia too, as others have expressed. Those JJ players...there are a few that I don't really believe are prepared for the brutality of a KO. When Sakara or James Irvin or someone's KOd, it's way different than when Maia or Dean Lister are. Maia has said explicitly that he's looking to win while doing his opponent the least amount of damage. At least that was quick. Wow, has anyone commented on Nate pulling back from the follow-up punch? What a stud.

[damo[23]]

CBR, I said the same thing when I saw him pull out of the punch.

Its understandable that some don't, I mean for fear of a recovery or whatever, but just shows Nate has a calm head, not to mention very good sportsmans nature.

[Hilltop]

I felt sympathy for Maia too, as others have expressed. Those JJ players...there are a few that I don't really believe are prepared for the brutality of a KO. When Sakara or James Irvin or someone's KOd, it's way different than when Maia or Dean Lister are. Maia has said explicitly that he's looking to win while doing his opponent the least amount of damage. At least that was quick. Wow, has anyone commented on Nate pulling back from the follow-up punch? What a stud.

I'm still not changing my stance on the Henderson shot (or any other follow-up shots made before stoppages), but for Marquardt to be able to keep his cool and pull back at the last second is impressive indeed. While I have absolutely nothing against guys who have done otherwise, or would've followed through still, you gotta admire him for that.

[El Hardee]

I felt sympathy for Maia too, as others have expressed. Those JJ players...there are a few that I don't really believe are prepared for the brutality of a KO. When Sakara or James Irvin or someone's KOd, it's way different than when Maia or Dean Lister are. Maia has said explicitly that he's looking to win while doing his opponent the least amount of damage. At least that was quick. Wow, has anyone commented on Nate pulling back from the follow-up punch? What a stud.

I was pulling for Maia, but Nate definalty won me as a fan with the restraint and class he showed following that big shot.

[Charcoal Filtered]

It is hard to call when a fighter is out and is one of the reasons for the excessive ground/pound following a big blow. I thought Randy was close when he went down in the third, only for him to score a reversal late. Jardine looked to be out when he went down, but was fine until I believe the third punch connected. It also looked like Leben had tapped earlier than when they called it. The late call resulted in him convulsing.

As for the Henderson cheap shots, I do not think there is any room in the sport for them. It is not going to stop anyone from doing the same talking before another fight and makes everyone looks bad. I think MMA has done a great job of separating themselves from the sleazy boxing industry. Cheap shots just give fuel to critics looking to group the two together.

[jTF2]

quick thoughts...

Nog should fight Mir next and most definetly shouldn't get title shot.

Randy should retire or go to 205 and ONLY against select fighters who he stands a good chance of winning against.

6 fight contract for Randy? 48/49 yrs old

ASilva vs random 205er or heavyweight.

Nate vs Hendo to decide 185 titleshot.

I wouldn't moan if Nog's next fight was a title shot. He did have the interim belt, he should have had his fight with Randy to combine the two belts, and its not like he was far out of the title equation in the first place. However, if he has to have another fight before then I would understand that to.

I do agree with Randy doing only selected fights from here on out. If he still tries to fight at the top in the HW division I do see him dropping a fair whack of his last few fights. I would like to see some of the "old timers" face off in what would be classic matches.

I do think Hendo takes the next title shot and Nate faces the winner, as good as Nate vs Hendo would be, I just think we have two great fights of Silva vs Hendo, and winner vs Nate, where as if we eliminate one, he has to spend another 6 to 8 months at least waiting for his title shot after impressive victories, and we see weaker guys getting a shot in the mean time.

I don't like the fact that Nate's road to the titleshot has been more impressive than Hendo's. makes sense to me to have them both fight in 2months or so and have ASilva fight some mid level 205er in the meantime.

edit. on another thread there's rumor of nate vs Hendo already! .

[Chach]

It is hard to call when a fighter is out and is one of the reasons for the excessive ground/pound following a big blow. I thought Randy was close when he went down in the third, only for him to score a reversal late. Jardine looked to be out when he went down, but was fine until I believe the third punch connected. It also looked like Leben had tapped earlier than when they called it. The late call resulted in him convulsing.

As for the Henderson cheap shots, I do not think there is any room in the sport for them. It is not going to stop anyone from doing the same talking before another fight and makes everyone looks bad. I think MMA has done a great job of separating themselves from the sleazy boxing industry. Cheap shots just give fuel to critics looking to group the two together.

There is so much gray area in terms of pulling back/ground and pound stuff. Nate obviously showed a cool head and only increased my fanboyism for him by showing restraint. In a situation with Nog/Randy, Ground and Pound is going to look brutal and there were a number of points that I thought that the fight was over but Randy pushed through and was able to intelligently defend himself. Jardine was doing alright up until that third punch connected and his arms went limp. That's where having a good ref in important. He jumped in as soon as Jardine's arms went limp and he was jumping in when Nate pulled off (which refs I can't remember). Not to bring back the Henderson non-sense that was discussed to death after the fight, at best that situation is just murky and really tough for a ref. But considering that has only been one death attributed to a sanctioned MMA match in the 20+ years since Pancrase was formed, I think they are doing something right.

I was REALLY impressed with Randy's stand-up. I have missed a number of Randy's mid-career bouts so maybe his stand-up really improved from his early UFC days and he was just rusty against Brock but I think against someone like Mark Coleman or a non-boxing HW, he has a good chance to lay some punishment out. Nog is just too quick and had a reach advantage and wasn't help back by knee injuries and staph infections to slow him down and leave him fat for a fight. THAT was PRIDE like Nog and I was so excited to see that he has something left in the tank. Randy gave him some pretty good licks and Nog just shook them off. I am really excited because I honestly believe that he has as good of a shot at being Lesnar as anyone. He's going to need his boxing because Lesnar might be able to take him down to the ground and just muscle his way out of submissions from the bottom. But Nog has been hit by a truck and dropped on his head by Bob Sapp so if anyone is tough enough to take a punch from Lesnar, it's going to be him. They just HAD to put the Carwin fight in November. If Carwin gets hurt in training, I would LOVE to see Nog fight Lesnar on NYE show. That could be a record breaking PPV. Such is life I guess. mahalo
~Chach~

[kdawg32086]

It is hard to call when a fighter is out and is one of the reasons for the excessive ground/pound following a big blow. I thought Randy was close when he went down in the third, only for him to score a reversal late. Jardine looked to be out when he went down, but was fine until I believe the third punch connected. It also looked like Leben had tapped earlier than when they called it. The late call resulted in him convulsing.

As for the Henderson cheap shots, I do not think there is any room in the sport for them. It is not going to stop anyone from doing the same talking before another fight and makes everyone looks bad. I think MMA has done a great job of separating themselves from the sleazy boxing industry. Cheap shots just give fuel to critics looking to group the two together.

It wasn't the ref's fault. Leben passed out while trying to tap. So many times, fighters have "fake tapped" their way out of submissions so the generally accepted tap out is three taps and Leben only gave two. CB Dolloway is one guy notorious for double tapping and then continuing to fight.

[Charcoal Filtered]

Kdawg, it was only two taps correct. However, it did look as if he was barely able to muster those two. Not a huge problem for me though.

Chach, agree that Nog vs Lesnar would be a great matchup. Lesnar is going to be tough to beat, but Nog is one tough SOB. Would love to see if Brock could last five rounds.

[damo[23]]

A couple of days later, but here's the salary info for 102 (incs. Bonus's):

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ($460,000/includes win bonus of $150,000 and “FOTN” bonus of $60,000) def. Randy Couture ($310,000 – includes “FOTN” bonus of $60,000)
Thiago Silva ($118,000 – includes win bonus of $29,000 and “FOTN” bonus of $60,000) def. Keith Jardine ($55,000)
Jake Rosholt ($86,000 – includes win bonus of $13,000 and “FOTN” bonus of $60,000) def. Chris Leben ($30,000)
Nate Marquardt ($140,000 – includes win bonus of $40,000 and “FOTN” bonus of $60,000) def. Demian Maia ($28,000)
Brandon Vera ($70,000 – includes win bonus of $35,000) def. Krzystzof Soszynski ($8,000)
Aaron Simpson ($18,000 – includes win bonus of $9,000) def. Ed Herman ($24,000)
Gabriel Gonzaga ($120,000 – includes win bonus of $60,000) def. Chris Tuchscherer ($10,000)
Mike Russow ($20,000 – includes win bonus of $10,000) def. Justin McCully ($15,000)
Todd Duffee ($10,000 – includes win bonus of $5,000) def. Tim Hague ($7,000)
Mark Munoz ($24,000 – includes win bonus of $12,000) def. Nick Catone ($5,000)
Evan Dunham ($14,000 – includes win bonus of $7,000) def. Marcus Aurelio ($13,000)

http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/08/31/ ... y-figures/

[CPT]

Pretty nice payout.

Only 2 guys making less than $10,000.

Too bad for Duffee that he couldn't even get KO of the night for a record setting KO, but Marquardts really was more impressive.

Not sure what Thiago Silva's bonus was for though.

[damo[23]]

Yeah its a bit odd, MMA Weekly has it without Silva, but it also was released earlier.

Obviously FOTN was Randy vs Nog, KO was Nate, Sub was Rosholt.

I can't see them giving Silva KO (as it is known for Dana to bust out more than one bonus for the same award), without giving Todd Duffee a bonus as well. 5OP hasn't differentiated between the bonus's so its hard to say if they have just randomly embellished on what has gone on.

[Hilltop]

If you're giving Silva the KO bonus, Duffee should be in line for that as well.