June 16, 2009, at 4:25 pm
From Sherdog:
Two of the sport’s most decorated and beloved heavyweights will cross paths for the first time when Randy Couture locks horns with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the UFC 102 main event on Aug. 29 at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore. The UFC made the bout official on Monday.
This fight will mark Couture’s first fight since his loss to Brock Lesnar for the UFC title at UFC 91. At age 45, is there any chance that Captain America will finally slow down? His 16-9 record is deceiving because he has fought for defended a title in 11 of his last 12 fights. That means that he has beem facing the best of the best for almost five years and will go at it with another top heavyweight contender in Nogueira.
Nog is another PRIDE fighter who came over and hasn’t been overly impressive in the octagon. His last fight was at UFC 92 when he was stopped by Frank Mir and lost the Interim Heavyweight title. Despite being 2-1, both of his wins were less than spectacular. At age 33 and with 42 fights under his belt, there is some question about what Nogueira has left in the tank.
This will be a big fight to see who has what it takes to be at the top of the division. Right now, only Lesnar and Mir have staked any claim to a top spot and there is certainly wiggle room in a top 5 that includes 6-0 Cain Velasquez. While the hot prospect may belong there someday, right now it’s a bit sad that he is among the best of the UFC’s big men. The winner of this bout will quickly find himself in contention for a title shot.
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