Call me crazy, but does Todd Duffee vs. Brock Lesnar, or Todd Duffee vs. Shane Carwin sound good to any of you? Don’t get me wrong, a seven second knockout in his debut doesn’t go a long way in answering the questions hanging over a fighter as green as Duffee’s head, but the previously mentioned heavyweights are still relatively green in the grand scheme of things. Brock has five fights, Duffee has five fights, Carwin’s fought a combined total of just over thirteen minutes, and Duffee has put just over ten minutes in during his professional career of hurting people. Of course Duffee has some proving to do before he’s held in the same regards as Lesnar or Carwin, who have both proved their positions at the top of the UFC’s heavyweight division with impressive victories over top rated opponents. While Tim Hague doesn’t hold a victory over a Randy Couture, Gabriel Gonzaga or Frank Mir, the enormous heavyweight brawler showed his resolve in his UFC debut where he was blasted with Pat Barry head kicks early on, yet managed to secure the stranglehold submission when it was all said and done.

It’s okay to get excited about prospects in this sport if they give you something to be legitimately excited about. Five wins, five knockouts, the fastest knockout in well over a hundred UFC events, and an awesome nickname like “The Irish Car Bomb” make Duffee a prospect worth getting excited about.

As much has been made about Randy Couture’s forty-six years of age, perhaps more should be made of it. Not in a negative light, but quite the opposite; Randy showed in his three round battle with Antonio Rodrigo Nogieira that he can continue to compete at the highest levels of this sport. A true one of a kind, Randy continues to defy logic and set precedents as to what a man nearing his fifties can be capable of. It sounds cold, but it’s true, “The Natural” is closer to fifty than he is forty.

George Foreman made headlines some fifteen years ago when he became the oldest boxing heavyweight champion in the history of the sport at forty-five years of age, eventually retiring at forty-eight. The difference is that Big George relied heavily on his massive 6’4″, 250-plus pound frame and clubbing knockout power that had carried him throughout his illustrious boxing career, while Couture has never been known for a big punch. They say the last thing to go on a fighter is their punch, I firmly believe this statement is true and feel like it carried Foreman a long way before his age caught up with him.

The thing that makes Couture so remarkable is the fact that he is in a sport that involves punching, wrestling, submissions; anyone that has spent any chunk of time in training mixed martial arts will testify to the enormous variety of injuries that can be suffered during training alone. Joints are twisted, knees are bent in funky directions, and there’s no sport in the world that requires more from you cardiovascularly in fifteen minutes than fighting does. Randy is a work in progress, a man they will look back on decades from now as the standard for durability, and having just inked a career closing six-fight deal with the UFC, this legend’s story is far from done being written.

Two things were validated during Aaron Simpson vs. Ed Herman: A) Ed Herman is an absolute warrior, and B) Simpson is for real. The fight between the two was absolutely violent and raw, a true pleasure to watch. Unfortunate would be an understatement to describe the bout ending injury suffered by Herman during an Aaron Simpson takedown late in the first round. The Team Quest trained fighter showed the type of grit that would have made John Wayne proud, answering the bell for the second when it was more than obvious that he had suffered some sort of serious injury to his left knee. Up until that point we had a real war on our hands.

Herman is as tough as nails and utilized upkicks from the ground as well, if not better than I had ever seen employed before. When Simpson threw his punches you could hardly see them, but you could hear them, and that is a truly frightening thing. Both of these warriors were battered and rocked during several moments of the first round, in what was one of the most exciting rounds I have witnessed in quite some time, and it was nothing less than a tragedy that the fight had to end the way it did. However, these things happen in this sport unfortunately, otherwise the bout may well have given Couture vs. Nogueira a run for it’s money in the “Fight of the Night” department, as epic as that heavyweight battle was.

I don’t know, but maybe after a fighter is kicked in the groin so hard that he is vomiting in the Octagon it’s time to take the executive action and stop the fight. Chris Tuchscherer was absolutely leveled with a left kick to the ballocks in the opening moments of his UFC debut against Gabriel Gonzaga with a kick that seemed difficult to misplace. Now I’m not saying that Gonzaga meant to get things started with the sack-kick, but it didn’t even appear as if the kick had a chance of landing anywhere other than the groin. Regardless the fight should have been stopped as it was apparent that Tuchscherer was in no condition to continue, but kudos to Chris for manning up and sacrificing himself for the thrill of the fans. Not to say he was going to trounce Gonzaga if the foul hadn’t occurred, but it immediately cancelled any chance of a fair fight.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a thousand more times, “really good at everything” will trump “amazing at one thing” every time. Nate Marquardt making surprisingly short work of Demian Maia was a perfect example of this. While the bout didn’t go very long to say the least, it didn’t have to. The whole thing with Maia is that you don’t want to go to the ground with him. The days of having to be worried about one specific area of your opponents arsenal are dead at this level of fighting. All Marquardt had to do was keep the fight standing and punch Maia in the face a few times. In what came as somewhat of a surprise, it ended up taking a couple less than a few. When Maia threw the second kick of the bout to Marquardt’s head and Nate flicked it away like a misdirected spitball you could just feel the wind being sucked from Maia’s sails, and it was as if he panicked when telegraphing that fateful third kick. The Octagon is no place to panic.

On a side note, kudos to Marquardt for holding off on that last punch to the downed and out submission specialist. So may times we have seen men that are clearly unconscious being battered about the face with the excuse,”Well, it’s the referees job to stop the fight”. Thank you for that show of class and respect to your opponent Nate, you’re a class act and great representative for the sport.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Other notable paydays include Nate Marquardt, who brought in a total of $140,000 for his lightning quick knockout of Demian Maia, and Thiago Silva, who went home with $118,000 for his trouncing of Keith Jardine.

The “why is he not fighting on the main card?” fighter of the night, Gabriel Gonzaga, raked in $120,000 for his victory over Chris Tuchscherer that was not a part of the live broadcast.

A full list of the disclosed payouts from UFC 102 are listed below:

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)

Nogueira and Couture scooped up the extra dough for their main event battle that was ruled to be the “Fight of the Night”, and deservedly so.

Marquardt earned the “Knockout of the Night” nod for the huge right hand he smashed into Maia’s face in the early moments of round one that left the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in a heap.

Rosholt picked up his first UFC victory and the much sought after “Submission of the Night” bonus in the process as he caught Chris Leben in a nasty consciousness severing side choke in the third and final round.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

The six-time UFC champion and the dangerous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt got after it right off the bat during the main event that took place in Portland, Oregon, exchanging powerful strikes that left both men battered and bruised when it was all said and done. A see-saw battle that saw Couture avoiding submissions and doing his best to work his trademark ground and pound while on the canvas.

In the end the judges saw the bout in Nogueira’s favor, awarding him with the unanimous decision victory, and throwing the decorated veteran right back into the mix of the UFC’s heavyweight division in the process.

While Couture ended up on the losing end of the decision, he showed that he is far from done in the fight game at forty-six years of age. Whether “The Natural” hangs them up for good, or possibly decides on a switch back down to light-heavyweight will surely be decided in the coming days. From what he showed this evening though, there appears to be no reason for Randy to call it quits just yet.

Nate Marquardt put a punctuation mark on an extremely impressive comeback since his previous loss to Silva for the UFC 185 pound crown as he blasted Demian Maia with a devastating right hand that left the previously undefeated submission specialist in an unconscious heap just seconds into their highly anticipated showdown.

The fight started out normal enough, with Maia working his kicks, but it wasn’t until after the third leg attack from the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt that Marquardt dropped the anvil, and dropped Maia in the process.

Marquardt has looked nothing short of impressive ever since his previously failed bid at championship glory during UFC 73. Now, nearly thirty events later Marquardt has notched stoppage victories over the likes of Jeremy Horn, Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia, and now Maia. His sole defeat was to Thales Leites; a controversial bout that could have gone Marquardt’s way had the deduction of several points not had a major impact in the bout’s outcome.

Other contender’s for the middleweight championship that deserve mentioning include Dan Henderson, who recently embarrassed Michael Bisping via devastating knockout, and of course, Yushin Okami.

UFC

An honor previously held by both James “The Sandman” Irvin and Don “The Predator” Frye was bested by a mere second this evening as the American Top Team trained Duffee brutalized Tim Hague in record time during the prelims of  UFC 102.

Irvin had finished off Houston Alexander at the eight second mark previously, while Frye had recorded the same time in a bout with Thomas Ramirez contested in the developmental days of the UFC.

Duffee dropped Hague with a hard straight punch right out of the gate and followed his fallen prey to the canvas where he unleashed a flurry of punches, bringing a halt to the one sided beatdown just seconds after it began.

Five wins, five knockouts, and the quickest KO in UFC history make Duffee a big man to keep a close eye on in the future.

The event takes place from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, and will air live on pay-per-view.

The main event of this evening pits Randy Couture up against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a heavyweight match-up, with other intriguing bouts including Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva, Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt and many more.

Below is a full list of the results from UFC 102:

MARCUS AURELIO VS. EVAN DUNHAM - Winner: Evan Dunham via split decision

MARK MUNOZ VS. NICK CATONE - Winner: Mark Munoz via split decision

TODD DUFFEE VS. TIM HAGUE - Winner: Todd Duffee via knockout – Round 1 (Lightning quick knockout. A hard punch standing dropped Hague where Duffee swarmed with punches for the seven second stoppage)

MIKE RUSSOW VS. JUSTIN McCULLY - Winner: Mike Russow via unanimous decision

CHRIS TUCHSCHERER VS. GABRIEL GONZAGA - Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga via TKO – Round 1

AARON SIMPSON VS. ED HERMAN - Winner: Aaron Simpson via TKO (injury) – Round 2

KRZYSZTOF SOSZYNSKI VS. BRANDON VERA - Winner: Brandon Vera via unanimous decision

NATE MARQUARDT VS. DEMIAN MAIA - Winner: Nate Marquardt via knockout – Round 1

CHRIS LEBEN VS. JAKE ROSHOLT - Winner: Jake Rosholt via submission (side-choke) – Round 3

KEITH JARDINE VS. THIAGO SILVA - Winner: Thiago Silva via knockout – Round 1

RANDY COUTURE VS. ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA - Winner: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via unanimous decision

The weigh-ins took place at the same venue that will host tomorrow night’s event, the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.

Headlining the card will be a heavyweight match-up between Randy Couture and Antonio Rodriogo Nogueira, with other intriguing match-ups including Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt, Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva and many more.

A full list of the official weigh-in results for the event are listed below.

Randy Couture (220) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (231)

Thiago Silva (205) vs. Keith Jardine (205)

Nate Marquardt (185) vs. Demian Maia (185)

Brandon Vera (205) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (205)

Jake Rosholt (185) vs. Chris Leben (185)

Aaron Simpson (185) vs. Ed Herman (185.5)

Chris Tuchscherer (258) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (259)

Mike Russow (260) vs. Justin McCully (238)

Todd Duffee (251) vs. Tim Hague (263.5)

Mark Munoz (185.5) vs. Nick Catone (185.5)

Marcus Aurelio (156) vs. Evan Dunham (155)

It should be no mystery to anyone vaguely familiar with this sport that Nogueira is well known for one thing: Finding a way to submit some of the best big men on the planet. In 31 professional victories, 19 have come by way of submission for the Brazilian born pain pharmacist. Respected heavyweights such as Heath Herring, Tim Sylvia and Mark Coleman have been humbled by Nogueira in the past, making it no mystery as to what the former PRIDE and UFC interim champion’s clear cut path to victory will be tomorrow evening in Portland.

Don’t think for a second that this truth hasn’t been drilled into Couture’s head over the last couple of months by a man that goes by the name of Neil Melanson. Neil may not be a name familiar to the average Joe just yet, but that is sure to change in coming months as the impact of the Gokor Chivichyan and Karo Parisyan trained submission specialist has had since his recent arrival at Xtreme Couture has been profound.

Schooled under the umbrella of “The Toughest Man Alive” Gene Lebell and his vicious Judo influenced style of submission fighting that is still widely untapped in the world of MMA, Melanson brings a practical, somewhat old school style to training that war dogs such as Couture can fully appreciate. A “let’s use what REALLY works, and throw out the rest of this garbage” approach to twisting limbs and forcing tapouts.

While Melanson admittedly comes from a different variation of submission fighting that the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt does, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the utmost respect for Nogueira and everything he has accomplished both in the world of submissions, and the world of mixed martial arts.

“On the ground Nogueira is one of the guys that I’ve looked up to for years, and he really is amazing,” admitted Melanson during a conversation with FiveOuncesOfPain.com in the days leading into UFC 102. “He has made a lot of adjustments to his game because people don’t want to stay on the ground with him anymore.”

The fact that a ground fighter as accomplished as Nogueira is held in such a high regard by Melanson adds validity to his argument that Couture will be in for few surprises come tomorrow night. Neil is fully aware of what Big Nog brings to the table, and he has prepared Couture for every worst case scenario possible.

“I think I’ve done a great job of preparing Randy for the ground,” said Melanson. “I’ve really educated Randy on how to smother the guard, and how to stay away intelligently; without hovering or leaving himself vulnerable for timing based attacks. Focusing on how to beat Nogueira’s half guard, and just how to survive. We spent the first just on defense; surviving submission, surviving bad positions. It wasn’t even until the second month that we got more into the offensive mindset.”

Of course the saying goes,”If it aint broke, don’t fix it”, but what about tweaking it just a little bit to be more proficcient? According to Melanson, this is exactly what he did to the ground attack of one of the most brutal ground and pounders in the business, explaining,”The other major thing with Randy that we changed was his ground and pound. I know it sounds weird because Randy is known for his ground and pound, but I changed the way he does his striking on the ground to make him more violent.

“Every time you throw a punch inside someones guard, what happens is you leave yourself in a hovering position after you retract the punch where you can be counter-attacked by a good submission artist. That’s what you see most of the time. Well what I taught Randy to do was to smother the counter-attack, similar to what Fedor does, and after Randy throws that punch to follow up with a shoulder slam and smother the hips.”

Outside of his last bout with Frank Mir, Nogueira has shown an ability to absorb a phenomenal amount of punishment without being stopped. While stopping a man as capable on the ground as Antonio on the ground with a flurry of punches is unlikely, the addition of elbows on the bottom in the UFC add an extra element Nogueira hadn’t dealt with in his days fighting in Japan. Melanson agrees, and also feel that there is a very good chance that ‘there will be blood’ in the Octagon in Portland when it’s all said and done.

“If Randy gets to zero degrees flat on Nogueira, I believe there’s a very high percentage that he will split him open with his elbows,” said the Xrteme Couture Head Jiu-Jitsu Instructor. “He does not hover any more. He smothers, and when he plays away, he plays all the way away; which is going to help him avoid a lot of submissions. By doing that, Nogueira is probably going to come into the half guard, which we know isn’t that hard to predict because it’s the smart thing for Nogueira to do. All of this has been formulated and drilled into him many times, so nothing should be surprising here. If Randy gets in a bad situation, we’ve really hammered it so he should be able to get out of it.

“My thing with this fight is: Randy’s not going to go out there and score with Nogueira on the ground. He’s going out there to do damage. If he chooses to stay on the ground with Nogueira, he’s going to do DAMAGE. If it goes to the ground you’re not going to see Randy chipping away at somebody. You’re going to see Randy doing damage, escaping position, confuse Nogueira and pick him apart on the feet. That’s what we’re hoping is going to happen. We either get a stoppage on a cut, a TKO, or even a knockout.”

Although it has been noted that Nogueira has been an extremely difficult man to finish throughout the course of his battle-charted career, the fact that the normally iron-chinned veteran was wobbled by punches that he normally would have shrugged off in his last trip to the Octagon must be formulated into the equation. Something Melanson is more than aware of, stating,”I don’t know where Nogueira is physically right now with all of the wars he’s been in. He may be susceptible to the flash knockout. Just because of the way he would drop so much with Mir. Once you get into that phase where your programmed to do the flash knockout, it’s kind of like with Ken Shamrock where you’ll see him just get clipped, and he’s out for just one second so he really doesn’t think he was out. It’s very subtle. The brain is basically training itself. Once you’ve been knocked out really hard, the body remembers that and it will shut down. That’s why a guy like Chuck Liddell, who used to have a great chin, is just getting dropped. Because after he got knocked out that first time by Rampage, his body is starting to remember, and it programs itself. I think with Nogueira it’s very probable that the same thing happened.

“I don’t know what you can do about that. Once you’ve reached that point your body is just done. Nogueira has been in some unbelievable wars throughout his career. It’s crazy because most of his fights came in Japan so a lot of people don’t really know how great he really is, but he is one of the greatest of all time. He is a legend. I think he’s just taken too much damage, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but maybe it’s time for him to hang it up, but we’ll see.”

Whether the fight ends in a flash knockout or TKO via cuts, one thing is for certain: You’re going to have to take it from Nogueira, he’s far too proud to give you anything. Men like Nogueira are just cut from a different cloth. Antonio is a living, breathing definition of Bushido. A true warrior, willing to die in the cage if that’s what the situation calls for.

“He has the heart of a lion, and he does not break mentally,” said Melanson. “Nogueira does not break mentally. He can get frustrated. Like Fedor frustrated him, but he’ll always try to win the fight. It’s the same mindset with guys like Jon Fitch, or even Thiago Alves in their fights with Georges St. Pierre. Sure, they got dominated in that fight, but in that fifth round they were still trying to win that fight. They don’t break. There are some guys that will just lie down when things don’t go their way, and that’s not Randy either. I’ve really hammered him on the ground; trying to break him, and trying to get him frustrated, and he was so mad. But he would get mad and try to tear my head off, not mad and storming off of the mat.”

Although Melanson has trained Couture to do intense physical harm to Nogueira on Saturday evening in recent months, the author of several top rated submission technique books doesn’t rule out training with Big Nog sometime down the line. In fact, it’s something Neil would welcome with open arms should the opportunity arise in the future, explaining,”We’ll see. I really hope it goes Randy’s way, and hopefully after a little bit, I would love to train with Nogueira too. Like I said, I love the guy, and I think he’s awesome.”

UFC 102 is slated for this Saturday evening, August 29, from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, and will air live on pay-per-view.

While promoters went with the “Couture vs. Nogueira” theme as the event title, it very well could have been named “U.S. vs. Brazil” as three of the main card bouts pit dangerous Brazilians against some of America’s finest, with two additional bouts on the undercard also fitting the bill.

Outside of the previously noted main event, UFC 102 will feature intriguing showdowns between the likes of Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia, Keith Jardine and Thiago Silva, and many more.

Come along as I throw my two cents in on some of the factors to keep an eye on heading into this card, and give my predictions on the bout outcomes.

RANDY COUTURE VS. ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA

I feel like this fight would have been better served a few years ago, but things don’t play out the way they should in this fight game. With that being said, the main event between Couture and Nogueira is absolutely deserving of its headline status due to the fact that neither man are known for being anything less than crowd-pleasing throughout their many years in the sport.

Nogueira has one obvious key to victory in this fight, the submission. While the submission may be the key to victory for Nogueira, don’t think for a second that the canvas is his turf. Couture has just a good of a chance stopping the fight on the mat as Nogueira does, if not better. Couture could very well mash Big Nog up with elbows from the top position and force an early stoppage. Just one possible avenue to victory for the multi-weight class UFC champion. If Nogueira’s been studying the tapes of Randy getting tapped in bouts with Valentijn Overeem and Enson Inoue, he had better check the date on those tapes because Couture hasn’t been submitted in close to a decade. Of course there are those that would contend that Captain America has never been up against a submission artist as dangerous as Nogueira… and they’re right. I just think the sport has evolved past the point when Nogueira was slapping triangles on everyone in PRIDE. His riddle has been solved.

If the fight goes to the ground, expect for Couture to take the Fedor Emelianenko approach to ground and pounding the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Leaving him no room to breathe and overwhelming him with shots designed to cause serious damage. While knocking Nogueira out on the canvas is not the most likely outcome, the allowance of elbows makes a cut stoppage very likely in this bout.

Ideally Couture would prefer to have this fight standing. Nogueira was dropped with punches in the Mir fight he would have laughed at in the past, and something must be said abut that. It’s in my personal opinion that the many wars Antonio has waged throughout his historic career have finally caught up with him. Not that he’s done being competitive, but in my opinion, he’s done being competitive in the upper levels of the UFC. We’ll see Saturday night.

Winner: Couture via TKO (possibly on cuts)

KEITH JARDINE VS. THIAGO SILVA

I don’t think it would come as too much of a shock to people if Silva tries to jump on Jardine really early in this one. He’s shown an ability to get caught cold in the past, and Thiago would be foolish not to test the waters with Jardine almost immediately. Once you let a guy like Jardine get in a groove, he can be extremely difficult to beat. Just ask Chuck Lidell, Brandon Vera and Quinton Jackson. Sure, Rampage was awarded with the unanimous decision, but Jardine made it anything but an easy road for the former UFC champ, demonstrating he has the tools to make any fighters night a long one under the right circumstances.

Regardless, this fight will be fun while it lasts. Silva’s tenacious style will not allow Jardine to get comfortable, and it should end up making this fight. Depending on how Marquardt vs. Maia pans out, we could very well have a fight of the night on our hands in this one.

If it ends in the first, Silva wins by TKO, if it goes to the second, it’s all Jardine.

Winner: Jardine via TKO

CHRIS LEBEN VS. JAKE ROSHOLT

Both of these fighters have huge question marks over their heads going into this fight. For Leben, outside of whether or not his urinalysis will come back clean this time around, he has to prove that he truly belongs in the UFC. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve long been a fan of Leben and his never say die attitude in the cage, but recent losses to Kalib Starnes and Michael Bisping have left the Hawaii resident with something to prove in the Octagon. Namely, that he belongs, and if he can’t get past Rosholt, there’s no reason to think that he does.

Rosholt’s in the same boat as Leben, just under far different circumstances. While not nearly as established in the Octagon, Rosholt desperately needs to prove he’s where he belongs following a first round submission defeat to Dan Miller in the former star wrestler’s UFC debut in February of 2009. I’m sure Rosholt has focused on his shortcomings in the many months he’s been away from the cage, and I fully expect for him to be the best we’ve ever seen him. Rosholt’s no dummy, he knows what’s at stake in this one.

While I don’t think for a second that Leben can’t catch Rosholt with a submission, I feel like his most likely key to victory is going to be the old fashioned “punch to the face”. I didn’t like how easily Rosholt was rocked in his last fight with the WEC against Nissen Osterneck, and while you can train defense, you can’t train a chin. If Leben puts a good one on Rosholt’s kisser we could have a quick finish to this one.

However, Rosholt is the caliber of wrestler rarely seen in the UFC, or all of MMA for that matter, and you can never discredit that extremely relevant factor. If Rosholt wins this fight, it’s not going to be pretty, but it’s still a fight he can win. He just better not forget where he came from. Not for one moment.

Winner: Leben via Knockout

NATE MARQUARDT VS. DEMIAN MAIA

This has been a personal dream fight of mine for close to a year now, so needless to say, this will be the one fight I will be looking forward to the most this Saturday evening. In my opinion both of these guys are the clear cut number one and number two challengers in the middleweight division. Both with a very legitimate chance of upsetting Anderson Silva in the future due to a variety of different circumstances regarding both men. Silva has shown he can be subbed, Maia is a phenom on the ground. With Marquardt, he has grown tremendously in a variety of ways since his previous encounter with “The Spider”, most notably with his top game, striking and knockout power.

While Marquardt is well schooled in the art of submissions, nobody wants to get caught rolling around on the mat with someone like Maia. I think Marquardt’s submission defense is well above average, but much like Anderson, Nate has shown a vulnerability to submission attacks in the past as well. Maia could submit anyone walking the planet earth given the proper amount of time on the ground, and Marquardt knows this.

Look for Marquardt to come out intelligently dropping bombs with bad intentions. He’s going to keep the distance and make it count when he can. Due to his tremendous size and strength for the weight class, Marquardt’s takedown defense will serve him well against Maia where it hasn’t others in the past. On the feet it’s not even close. Marquardt will show how ”really good at a lot of things” trumps “awesome at one thing” every time.

Winner: Marquardt via TKO

BRANDON VERA VS. KRZYSZTOF SOSZYNSKI

A few years ago I would have laughed if a fight between these two had been proposed. While both had been competing in the heavyweight division at the time, the contrast in the fighter’s career’s was like night and day. Where Vera was an undefeated wrecking machine that seemed hopeful to make good on a promise to obtain the UFC heavyweight belt before dropping down to 205 and doing the same, and Soszynki was at the time suffering a series of losses, time has gone a long way in restructuring the career of these two.

Now it’s Soszynski with the momentum, coming off of three impressive stoppages in the Octagon, while Vera is eager to reassert himself as a force since dropping down to light-heavyweight after suffering his own series of defeats. To make matters worse, Vera has recently rekindled the “champion at two weight classes” jibberish.

I think it’s extremely unlikely that we see Vera as a champion of two weight classes outside of a regional show anytime in the near future. In fact, I believe Soszynksi will do enough in this bout to substantially dampen Vera’s current 205 pound championship illusion. It should be an entertaining bout with both men landing their fair share of exchanges, but I feel like Krzysztof’s momentum and wrestling will be the deciding factors in the bout.

Winner: Soszynski via Decision

For Prelim Preview and Predictions Click Here

UFC 102 is set for this Saturday evening, August 29, from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, and will air live on pay-per-view.

The show will be highlighted by a main event pitting Randy Couture up against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira , with other intriguing match-ups including Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt, Thiago Silva vs. Keith Jardine and many more.

However, in this segment we’ll be taking a closer look at the fights that make up the preliminary portion of the card. A prelim show any red blooded mixed martial arts fan can get excited for.

AARON SIMPSON VS. ED HERMAN

This fight is going to tell us a lot more about Aaron Simpson than it will Ed Herman. With five wins and five stoppages by either KO or TKO, there is still a great deal to discover in regards to the still developing Simpson. I personally believe, and have believed that Simpson has all of the skills necessary to become a champion in the UFC someday. While that day may not be tomorrow, I feel like he has the tools to get there eventually with the proper development. Proper development he’s sure to receive under the care of the Lally brothers at Arizona Combat Sports. Simpson has a huge punch, a top level wrestling game and a killer instinct that can’t be taught.

With that said, Herman will without a doubt be the toughest test he has face up until this point in his career. Herman has established himself a legitimate UFC middleweight with impressive victories over the likes of Joe Doerkson and Scott Smith during his time spent in the Octagon. He possesses a powerful punch himself, a strong wrestling game and slick submissions.

Simpson can’t help but be exciting when he fights, and I don’t expect for this bout to be any different. Expect fireworks for as long as it lasts, and although I’m fully aware that Herman has never been knocked out in the history of his career, there’s a first time for everything.

Winner: Aaron Simpson via TKO

GABRIEL GONZAGA VS. CHRIS TUCHSCHERER

Gabriel Gonzaga is arguably one of the two or three most talented heavyweights currently competing in the sport, it’s always been a matter of which Gonzaga shows up. When properly trained and performing at his full potential, Napao could very well beat any heavyweight in the business on the right night. Gonzaga has demonstrated the ability to end his fights with head kicks, punches and submissions. A true triple threat.

On the other hand, everyone has their weaknesses, and outside of being punched in the face by Shane Carwin (which I’d imagine would be a weakness for just about anybody, man or beast) I feel like Gonzaga is vulnerable to some good old fashioned ground and pound. The exact type that Tuchscherer is an expert in delivering. That’s Tuchsherer’s whole thing; put you on your back and make hamburger out of you. That’s what he does for a living. Not boring GNP either; I’m talking about the type of punishment from the top that makes you thank your lucky stars that you’re not on the receiving end of it. 260 pounds is a lot of man to deal with when the guy’s dropping bombs like Chris does.

I’m fully aware that Gonzaga is a huge jump up for Tuchscherer at this point, but hell, Gonzaga would be a huge jump up for anyone on the face of this earth outside of four or five guys. I’m going to get slammed for this one, so slam away, just call it a gut instinct.

Winner: Chris Tuchscherer via TKO

For any readers wishing to dispute this prediction, please see the included picture for further clarification of the reasoning behind my choice. Furthermore, I will fully admit partial bias in this one – War Chris!

JUSTIN MCCULLY VS. MIKE RUSSOW

I’m glad to see Russow make his UFC debut as I feel as it was an appropriate move on all ends. Russow is a scary heavyweight that shouldn’t be let out of a major promotion like the UFC to assault lesser fighters. He’s a big, powerful heavyweight with a smothering and technical ground game. With a submission ratio rarely seen in the heavyweight division, 8 of Russow’s 11 victories have come by way of tapout.

McCully is an always dangerous heavyweight, but his advantages over previous opponents aren’t going to work for him against Russow. Where McCully has utilized a superior wrestling game to overpower past foes, a similar gameplan isn’t going to work against a guy like Russow. McCully has yet to score a knockout in his professional career, and I highly doubt he’ll score his first this Saturday night. With the ground and pound decision and one punch knockout seemingly out of the equation, that leaves a possible submission for McCully? Not going to happen. The fact that McCully has been submitted in all four of his prior losses can’t be viewed as a good omen either due to the fact that Russow has made a career out of strangling necks and twisting limbs.

Russow is just a little bit better in too many areas, and he’ll show it at UFC 102. The UFC’s heavyweight division just got a little more crowded.

Winner: Mike Russow via Submission

TIM HAGUE VS. TODD DUFFEE

Another heavyweight slobberknocker! I don’t know if it has to do with me obsessing over guys like Mike Tyson, Razor Ruddock, Tommy Morrison and Riddick Bowe growing up or what, but I love to watch a couple massive dudes trying to clobber one another in a controlled environment. This is one thing that will never get old to me.

Hague really impressed me in his debut. I already knew he was a monster of a man standing at 6’4″ and weighing right around the 265 pound mark with an impressive record, but what I was most in awe of was his ability to rebound from the brink of defeat to pull out the victory. A trait impossible to teach in the fight game. What I saw in Hague’s last bout convinced me he will be a problem for any man he ends up facing in the future. He was nearly decapitated with brutal head kicks from Pat Barry, yet recovered his wits and put the stranglehold on the decorated kickboxer.

Duffee seems to be taking the Cain Velasquez approach to the UFC, jumping headfirst into a sea full of sharks just a few fights into his career. The fact that Duffee holds a prior win over a fighter as seasoned as Assuerio Silva, and trains at one of the best gyms on the face of the earth at American Top Team in Florida tells me that it’s a step that Duffee feels more than ready to make. Four fights and four devastating KO’s make Todd a heavyweight prospect to keep an eye on, and this a bout to watch.

Winner: Todd Duffee via TKO

NICK CATONE VS. MARK MUNOZ

Undoubtedly a must-win fight for a couple of men with extremely promising futures in MMA ahead of them. Both guys have strong wrestling backgrounds, and both men were undefeated going into their previous defeats in the Octagon. Catone succumbed to a second round guillotine choke at the hands of Tim Credeur, while Munoz fell victim to a first round head kick at the shin of Matt Hamill.

This should wind up being more of the competitive bouts of the night , but it’s hard to guess what to expect. So often we see two wrestlers go in there trying to slug it out, or we may see that one man has a decisive advantage in the wrestling department. What I do feel pretty sure of is that this one will be extremely competetive. The man with the better cardio could very well take this one home.

Winner: Mark Munoz via Decision

MARCUS AURELIO VS. EVAN DUNHAM

Much like the Simpson vs. Herman bout, this fight is going to tell me so much more about Dunham than it will Aurellio. Dunham is a stud prospect with an undefeated record of 8-0, having only been pushed to the scorecards once in his professional career. He already established he had what it took in the UFC by stopping a capable Per Eklund via TKO at UFC 95.

However, normally Dunham’s bread and butter is his submission arsenal and we all know what Aurellio’s forte is. He’s a decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt that has faced some of the toughest competition the lightweight division has had to offer over the years.

The experience and submission advantages go to Marcus, the momentum and unknown factors go to Dunham. This will be one to watch. Should be a great way to kick off what should be a great night of fights.

Winner: Evan Dunham via Decision

*Final Card Preview and Predictions Coming Soon!

The news of the potential match-up between the two was first reported at MMAMadness.com.

UFC Fight Night 19 will be taking place on September 19 from the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.

Dollaway will be looking to come back from his dissapointing first round submission loss at the hands of Tom Lawlor at UFC 100 as he faces off with Miller in September. He’ll be looking to rebound after two consecutive wins in the Octagon over Jesse Taylor and Mike Massenzio.

Miller will also be looking to get himself back on track as he started out with a bang in the UFC, winning his first three before dropping his latest bout against Chael Sonnen at UFC 98.

Below is a full list of the expected bouts for UFC Fight Night 19:

Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard
Roger Huerta vs. Gray Maynard
Carlos Condit vs. Chris Lytle
Tim Credeur vs. Nate Quarry
Steve Cantwell vs. Brian Stann
Mike Pyle vs. Chris Wilson
C.B. Dollaway vs. Dan Miller
Kyle Bradley vs. Sam Stout
Justin Buchholz vs. Jeremy Stephens
Brock Larson vs. Mike Pierce
Ryan Jensen vs. Steven Steinbeiss

The UFC made the bout official earlier this afternoon.

UFC 102 will take place on August 29 from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.

Simpson is a two-time All American wrestler that went on to coach for Arizona State. He currently trains at Arizona Combat Sports along side the likes of Ryan Bader, Jamie Varner, C.B.Dollaway and Jacob McClintock. Simpson possesses a professional fighting record of 5-0 with all of his victories coming by way of knockout.

Herman recently came back from three consecutive defeats with the UFC by derailing David Loiseau at UFC 97. He will be looking to stay afloat in the UFC by notching a win over the undefeated Simpson in August.

A full list of the bouts set for UFC 102 are listed below:

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brandon Vera
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow
Todd Duffee vs. Tim Hague
Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
Evan Dunham vs. Matt Veach
Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson

Editors Note: It has recently been revealed that Gouveia has suffered a back injuury and will be unable to compete at UFC 102 as expected in a report from MMAJunkie.com. No news of a replacement opponent for Ed Herman in this musical chairs of injured fighters is available at this time.

With James Irvin sidelined due to a knee injury, Ed Herman (15-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC) has agreed to step in as a replacement and fight Wilson Gouveia (12-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC) on the preliminary card of UFC 102 on August 29 in Portland, Oregon.

The news of the expected match-up comes courtesy of a recent report by Sherdog.com.

Herman was originally supposed to face Aaron Simpson at UFC Fight Night 19 in September. While the bout is still posted on the UFC’s official website, it will now be canceled so Herman can meet Gouveia at UFC 102.

Herman last stepped into the Octagon in April, earning a unanimous-decision win over David Loiseau at UFC 97. The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for Herman.

Gouveia is hoping to rebound from a third-round TKO loss to Nate Marquardt at UFC 95 in February. Gouveia had recorded back-to-back victories over Jason MacDonald and Ryan Jensen before his loss to Marquardt.

The expected card for UFC 102 is listed below:

MAIN CARD

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brandon Vera

PRELIMINARY CARD

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Wilson Gouveia vs. Ed Herman
McCully vs. Mike Russow
Todd Duffee vs. Tim Hague
Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
Evan Dunham vs. Matt Veach

UFC 102 is set to take place on August 29 at the Rose Center in Portland, Oregon and will feature a headlining bout between former UFC heavyweight champions Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

The bout between Tuchscherer and Gonzaga has been set for the preliminary card at this time.

Gonzaga is going to be looking to bounce back from his disappointing knockout loss at the enormous hands of Shane Carwin during UFC 96 back in March of 2009. Prior to his most recent loss Gonzaga was coming off of back to back victories in the octagon over Justin McCully at UFC 86 and Joshua Hendricks at UFC 91.

Tuchscherer has been flying under the radar for quite some time now compiling a 17-1 record during his five years in the sport, putting together wins over UFC veterans Krzysztof Soszynski and Brandon Lee Hinkle along the way. Tuchscherer is a two time NCAA Division II All-American wrestler that trains out of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy and is a key training partner to current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

UFC 102 could easily be viewed as a USA vs. Brazil event due to the fact that six of the ten announced match-ups involve bouts featuring American fighters going head to head against fighters that are native to Brazil.

A full list of the bouts expected for UFC 102 are listed below:

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt

Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer

Wilson Gouveia vs. James Irvin

Junior Dos Santos vs. Justin McCully

Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz

Evan Dunham vs. Matt Veach

UFC 102 will take pace in Portland, Oregon on August 29 and will air live on pay-per-view. The event will mark the first UFC in Oregon’s history.

On top of the two previously mentioned bouts the UFC has finalized their main card with Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt, Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia, and Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera.

Also announced this afternoon were four undercard bouts featuring Wilson Gouveia vs. James Irvin, Junior Dos Santos vs. Justin McCully, Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz and Matt Veach vs. Evan Dunham.

The event now features a total of five bouts pitting Brazilians against Americans.

A full list of the fights made official for UFC 102 are listed below:

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt

Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera

Wilson Gouveia vs. James Irvin

Junior Dos Santos vs. Justin McCully

Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz

Evan Dunham vs. Matt Veach

UFC 102 is slated for August 29 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.

The UFC has confirmed the bout through a recent updated event post.

Silva was previously expected to face Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 before Anderson Silva was tapped to fill the Brazilian’s shoes.

Both men will be looking to rebound from a recent loss. Silva was knocked out by current UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 94 in January , while Jardine most recently found himself on the short end of a decision to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 96 in March.

Yesterday the UFC announced that UFC 102 would be headlined by a heavyweight contest between Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

A full list of the bouts expected for UFC 102 are listed below:

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

James Irvin vs. Wilson Gouveia

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer

Matt Veach vs. Evan Dunham

UFC 102 is scheduled to take place at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon on August 29 and will air live on pay-per-view.

The event will be the first ever UFC to make its way to Oregon.

“We’re extremely excited to be heading to Portland,” said UFC President Dana White in the announcement. “When you get two mixed-martial-arts legends who are all heart and have wanted to fight each other for years, plus the fact that Randy has roots in Oregon, that tells me that not only will the crowd be electric, but it’s also a night where the fighters will be looking to cement their legacies.”

The August bout will be the first return to action for Couture since he lost the heavyweight championship to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in November of 2008. Couture had compiled two consecutive victories in the UFC’s heavyweight division just prior to that loss over the likes of Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga.

Nogueira will be making his return after losing the UFC interim heavyweight championship to Frank Mir in December of 2008 at UFC 92. He also had a victory over Sylvia just prior to his most recent loss, along with wins over Heath Herring in the UFC and Josh Barnett in PRIDE.

The bout between Couture and Nogueira will be just one of five match ups expected for UFC 102 pitting Brazilians against Americans.

A full list of the bouts expected for UFC 102 are listed below:

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

James Irvin vs. Wilson Gouveia

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer

Matt Veach vs. Evan Dunham

While the company has yet to officially confirm a venue for the event, the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon is expected to host the card.

The main event for UFC 102 is expected to be a heavyweight match-up between MMA legends Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

While no bouts are official the rumored card for UFC 102 at this time are:

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

Wilson Gouveia vs. James Irvin

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer

Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz

Junior dos Santos vs. Justin McCully

Evan Dunham vs. Matt Veach

Fighter’s Only reported on the match-up yesterday between the inconsistent Brazilian and Tuchscherer who trains along with Brock Lesnar at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy.

Gonzaga went in to the fight with Carwin knowing if he were to defeat the unbeaten wrestler that he may very well be lining himself up for another crack at the UFC heavyweight championship. The only thing he cracked was Carwin’s nose as he started the fight aggressive and in control only to be knocked out in just over a minute. Gonzaga has been up and down throughout his UFC career. He made huge waves when he knocked out Cro-Cop with a vicious leg kick at UFC 70. That victory earned him a shot at Randy Couture and his championship. Couture completely broke Gonzaga’s will and won via third round TKO. Gonzaga then lost to fellow Fabricio Werdum but rebounded with two consecutive victories over Justin McCully and Josh Hendricks.

Tuchscherer is an impressive 17-1 with seven wins coming by TKO and six by submission. He is listed as 6’1” and 265lbs and holds victories over Brandon Lee Hinkle and UFC light heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski back in 2004. His only loss was to Travis Wuiff at the YAMMA Pit Fighting tournament that was held in Atlantic City in April of 2008. Gonzaga represents a huge step up in competition for the North Dakota native.

UFC 102 will be held in Portland, Oregon on August 29th and will be headlined by two former UFC heavyweight champions trying to rebound from a loss as Randy Couture takes on Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera. Also on the card will be a battle that may determine the number one contender for Anderson Silva’s middleweight championship as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wizard and undefeated Damian Maia takes on Nate Marquardt. Other bouts scheduled are Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva, Matt Hammil vs. Brandon Vera, Chris Leben who will be king his return from his steroid suspension as he takes on Jake Rosholt.