UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera Re-Cap

UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera
8/30/09
Rose Garden Arena
Portland, Or

Light Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (10-3) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (19-9-1)

Krzysztof has looked very good since leaving his season of TUF. He beat Andre Gusmao in the first round of his last fight at UFC 98 and before that he defeated Brian Stann at UFC 97. Vera handled Mike Patt at UFC 96 in his last fight but lost a close fight previous to that to Keith Jardine in which both guys looked awful and neither deserved to win. Vera has a slight height and reach advantage.

R1- Vera hit some counter strikes early that backed Krzysztof off early. Lots of clinching in the first round as both guys struggled to get position on the other guy. Krzysztof got stuffed at the end of the round and Vera landed a couple of elbows. Close round that I give to Vera 10-9.

R2- Krzysztof had a tough time in this round catching up to Vera. Vera once again did a good job of countering Krzysztof’s attacks. Krzysztof’s only real offense was clinching and leaning on Vera. Krzysztof got a take down at the one minute mark but could hold it or do anything with it. Neither guy really did anything to win this round but Vera hit more strikes. I’ve got Vera up 20-18.

R3- Krzysztof clinched Vera and Vera nearly got a kimura but couldn’t lock it in. Vera landed some good knees in the clinch and then took down Krzysztof and landed some shots before Krzysztof got back to his feet. Krzysztof got really tired at the end of the round. Vera is going to take this fight 30-27 in my book. Not an exciting fight but Vera continues to improve at Light Heavyweight. Krzysztof was just outmatched in this fight.

Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all three score cards. Post-fight Vera wore an Affliction T-shirt. It’s been a while since one of those has been in the Octagon.

Winner: Brandon Vera by Decision (Unanimous)

Rashad Evans is in attendance and he gets a round of boos from the crowd.

Middleweight Fight- Demian Maia (11-0) vs. Nate Marquardt (31-8-2)

This fight is for a shot at Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Marquardt has been impressive lately in his fight at UFC 88 with Martin Kampmann and his victory over Wilson Gouveia. Maia is undefeated and has recently submitted Nate Quarry and Jason MacDonald. Both of these guys are easily Top 10 Middleweights in the World Rankings and borderline Top 5 guys right now. The winner of this fight is a Top 5 World Middleweight. Maia is a BJJ Black Belt who has been working on his striking with Wanderlei Silva and Marquardt is part of Greg Jackson’s training camp.

R1- Maia came in with a kick and Marquardt just blasted him with a big time right hand and Maia hit the mat like a ton of bricks. Maia was not out but the ref stopped the fight. I’m not crazy about the stoppage. Marquardt would have probably finished the fight but he didn’t jump right on Maia and I think that influenced the decision. Either way that was a great punch by Marquardt.

Looks like Marquardt has earned his re-match with Anderson Silva and honestly that match can happen ASAP as neither Marquardt nor Anderson Silva got hurt in the slightest in their fights.

Winner: Nate Marquardt by KO R1 0:21

Middleweight Fight- Chris Leben (18-5) vs. Jake Rosholt (5-1)

Chris Leben’s last fight was a loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 89. After that fight Leben served a suspension for failing a drug test. Rosholt got submitted quickly by Dan Miller in his last fight. This fight is in Leben’s hometown. Rosholt has a 2” height and 4” reach advantage.

R1- Not much action in the first couple of minutes. Rosholt jumped in and Leben got a take down that almost looked like Rosholt pulled guard. Leben gave up his position to try and get a good shot but he didn’t and both fighters got back to their feet. Rosholt got a take down with a minute left in the round and landed some strikes. Leben took some wild shots at the end of the round and landed some. Leben looked like he got hurt by some of those Rosholt strikes. I give the first round to Rosholt as he did more damage but it was close.

R2- Rosholt went for a kick but Leben countered with a left hand and it dropped Rosholt as he was caught in the air and Leben jumped on top. The ref stood the fight back up due to lack of action by Leben. Leben had a leg kick blocked but landed a good punch and then clinched Rosholt up against the cage. Rosholt broke free and landed a punch and got a take down. Leben looks really tired right now. Rosholt landed some good strikes towards the end of the round but let Leben up. I’ve got Leben taking this round although it was very close so it’s 19-19 going into the final round.

R3- Rosholt got an early take down in the first 30 seconds of the round. Rosholt got an arm triangle and it looked like Leben was going to tap but he ended up passing out in the submission. Good showing by Rosholt. Leben had a tough time with his conditioning in this fight.

Winner: Jake Rosholt by Submission (Arm Triangle) R3 1:30

Heavyweight Fight- Tim Hague (10-1) vs. Todd Duffee (5-0)

This is a pre-show fight. The Heavyweight Division in UFC is all of the sudden pretty stacked. The winner of this fight will move up the ladder.

R1- Todd Duffee almost immediately knocked Hague down and then just destroyed him on the mat for a very quick finish. He hit a big left hand right off that bat when Hague left his chin wide open.

7 seconds is officially the fastest knockout in UFC history and Duffee got it in his UFC debut.

Winner: Todd Duffee by TKO (Punches) R1 0:07

UFC 103 is advertised. Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort. Mirko Crop Cop vs Junior dos Santos and Martin Kampmann vs. Mike Swick. September 19th!

Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (14-6-1) vs. Thiago Silva (13-1)

Both of these fighters are coming off losses to two of the top Light Heavyweight fighters in the world. Jardine lost to Rampage Jackson and Silva got mauled by Lyoto Machida. Both fighters are borderline Top 10 World Light Heavyweights. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the Co-Main Event of the evening.

R1- Jardine hit a body kick but Silva took him down to the mat about 30 seconds into the fight but Jardine got back to his feet without taking any damage. Jardine came in with a flurry but Silva stuck Jardine with a punch and he went down. Silva landed some big shots on Jardine while he was on the mat and the ref jumped in and stopped the fight. Good stoppage as Jardine went limp after Silva hit two shots on the ground.

Winner: Thiago Silva by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:35

Middleweight Fight- Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson

This is our second re-show fight. Mike Goldberg drops the interesting trivia that Aaron Simpson and his wife competed together on American Gladiators.

R1- Both guys throw leather early into the fight. Simpson shot in and got a take down. Herman quickly got back to his feet but Simpson slammed him back down. Herman is trying some weird type of soccer style bicycle kick while Simpson is standing hovering above him. Herman hit a couple of up kicks and backed Simpson off. Herman got to his feet and hit a knee but Simpson tossed him to the mat. Very entertaining fight so far. Simpson hit a good combo and then hit a punch that floored Herman. Simpson jumped on top but Herman did a good job of defending. Herman got up but Simpson took him back down and got some Ground and Pound. Good first round that Simpson took 10-9. Herman limps back to his corner as it looks like his knee is hurt.

R2- Herman came out and tried a kick but Simpson grabbed it and took him down and Herman hurt his leg again and the ref stopped the fight. Herman showed a lot of heart in this fight and Simpson looks like he’s going to be a good fighter in the Middleweight division.

Winner: Aaron Simpson by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R2 0:17

Heavyweight Fight- Antonio Minotauro Nogueira (31-5-1) vs. Randy Couture (16-9)

The UFC tells us that Nogueira’s average fight length is 12:18, he lands 75% of strikes thrown when standing up and he leads Pride & UFC in Submission Attempts. The fans have this fight pegged at 77% in favor of Couture. Rogan says Big Nog had a meniscus tear and a bad staph infection going into the Frank Mir fight where he was hospitalized five weeks before the fight. Couture, fighting in his home town, gets a huge reaction at introductions.

Brock Lesnar is at this show for the fight and he gets some boos when he is shown.

R1- Both guys throw some leather early and Big Nog tries to pull guard but Randy avoids it. Big Nog hurt Randy about 2 minutes into the fight and followed him to the ground. Big Nog locked in a choke and Randy somehow was able to get out of the move and get back to his fight. Both guys exchange some leather a couple of times and pop the crowd. Both guys just slug it out at about the one minute mark left in the round with both guys landing good shots. Really good first round that I’ve got Big Nog taking 10-9.

R2- Big Nog hit some good strikes early and tried to pull guard on a guillotine but Randy slipped out and took Big Nog’s guard. Randy controlled but Big Nog flipped him over and mounted Randy. Big Nog went for an arm triangle and punched Randy to try to get a better position with the submission but Randy got free. Randy got back to his feet with one minute left in the round. Both guys throw leather with Randy backing down first. Randy rocked Big Nog with a big left hand but Big Nog took it and stayed on his feet. Randy hit him with a follow-up left jab but Big Nog absorbed it. Another good round. I’ve got Big Nog up 20-18 after two rounds.

R3- Randy started out the round with a good combo. Big Nog came next with a combo of his own and then dropped Randy and got on top and hit some hammer punches with Randy fighting through and hanging on. Big Nog passed guard and took side control. Randy was able to flip Big Nog over. Goldberg says Lesnar is next to them shouting instructions at Couture. Randy lands some elbows from the top. Big Nog reversed Randy right at the end of the fight. Really good fight. I’ve got Big Nog taking all three rounds and redeeming himself after the Frank Mir fight.

Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 in favor of Big Nog.

Winner: Antonio Minotauro Nogueira by Decision (Unanimous)

Lightweight Fight- Evan Dunham vs. Marcus Aurelio

This is our third pre-show fight. Aurelio took this fight on short notice.

R1- Dunham got in a punch at the half way point of round one that knocked down Aurelio and Dunham followed him to the ground and got some good Ground and Pound but could not finish the fight. They went back to their feet and Dunham continued to win the round. Dunham took this round 10-9 and was really in control from the mid-point to the end of the round.

Dunham is an Xtreme Couture fighter and they show Shawn Thompkins giving him advice in the corner during the rest between rounds.

R2- Aurelio tries several times to get Dunham in the first minute and finally got him down after about a minute was gone from the round. Dunham was able to get back to his feet without taking much damage but Aurelio looks a lot more confident in this round. This was a fairly even round that will go to Aurelio due to the take down so it’s 19-19 going into the third and final round.

R3- Aurelio got a take down right off the bat in the final round. Aurelio got an Anaconda Choke submission attempt but Dunham was able to slip out. Dunham got a take down but did nothing with it as Aurelio quickly got back to his feet. The final minute of this fight sees Dunham trying to make this into a slugfest and Aurelio trying to take Dunham down. Really close round as they go toe to toe at the end of the round but I’ve got it for Aurelio due to the take down and submission attempt. So I’ve got Aurelio winning 29-28 in a very close fight.

Judges score cards say: 29-28 Aurelio, 29-28 Dunham, 30-27 Dunham

30-27? Really?

Winner: Evan Dunham by Decision (Split)