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UFC 102 Blood, Sweat, Violence, and... A Happy Ending? by Christopher Carroll
EDGE ContributorMonday Aug 31, 2009 Saturday night in Portland Oregon, the main card of UFC 102 delivered the action. Lots of action. Season one veteran of the UFC reality show The Ultimate Fighter, Chris Leben was choked unconscious by former NCAA champion wrestler Jake Rosholt. Young, violent, and heavily tattooed Brazilian Thiago Silva knocked out always tough yet always inconsistent Keith Jardine in the first round of their light-heavyweight bout. Nate ’The Great’ Marquardt (who is the cover boy for the August issue of Muscle and Fitness) had a video game-esque one punch knock out of the super slick and dangerous submission artist, Demian Maia. Marquardt’s 21 second effort, coupled with his post fight pseudo trash talk made a strong case for him to potentially become the number one contender for Anderson Silva’s middle-weight championship.
The main event was filled with emotional investment by fans and media alike as the bout pitted two former dominant heavyweight champions against each other in what many considered a do-or-die fight for both men. Randy ’The Natural’ Couture and Antonio ’Minotauro’ Nogueira had each lost his respective championship belt in his last octagon appearance. More importantly than titles, the long-term health of each beloved fighter’s battle-worn body was of serious concern to many in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA). If this fight were to have happened in 2003, it would have determined who the most dominant heavyweight fighter on the planet was. But taking place in late 2009, after the aforementioned losses both endured, the question this fight was supposed to answer was who was ready for retirement and who still had a little gas in the tank.
Evidently, neither man was happy with that storyline because both warriors filled up with super unleaded on the way to the arena. For three rounds, they entertained the nearly sold out crowd and displayed the heart, technique, and skill seen only in world class MMA. From the opening bell Nogueira absorbed hard punches from Randy, only to return fire with four to six punch combinations. Although Randy bloodied Nogueira with strikes, it was Nogueira’s powerful punches that knocked Randy down a few times. Nogueira also demonstrated his jiu-jitsu game by sweeping Randy numerous times and coming close to the submission with several chokes.
Nogueira clearly won the fight; however he did not dominate or outclass Randy. He was simply better that night. Randy displayed improved footwork, struck from new angles, had good recovery after getting dropped, and was technically sound with his submission defense. It was the best case scenario where neither was seriously injured (at the post fight press conference UFC President Dana White joked nobody went to the hospital) and both showcased their full fighting prowess. Neither man lost credibility and UFC fans were treated to an instant classic. Even though Randy lost the fight; everybody won Saturday night.
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