UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

[Wet Bandit]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

Is the Hammill fight still on? I thought he was injured?

Krzysztof "Copy and Paste" Soszynski is in against Vera now.<TD class="Txt11Gray OddBgd" width="97" height="20"></TD><TD class="Txt11Gray OddBgd"></TD>

[Bona Fide]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

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
• Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow
• Todd Duffee vs. Tim Hague
• Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
• Marcus Aurelio vs. Evan Dunham
• Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson

This is the finalized card.

[darlon]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

I'm ready for this card. Demian Maia and Brandon Vera are two of my favorites and I'm looking forward to seeing Thiago Silva fight. Not so excited about the fight we would have loved four years ago but it's still going to be interesting.

[judgejudy]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

nobody's psyched for big nog? i know i am.

[The Chef]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

Im going to go to the weigh-ins just to experience something to do with the event but there is no way Im paying the outrageous prices they are asking for tickets when the card is soft, imo atleast.

[TwelveozPlaya21]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

prolly gonna pass on this card, nogueira is straight boring. and not much else on this card is worth watching..

[Wet Bandit]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

I don't think this card is soft at all. The headliner doesn't have a ton of wow, but it's still aging legends whose styles match up well. Silva/Jardine should be a fun stand-up fight. Maia/Marquardt is a fight between two incredibly talented guys, and that fight has huge implications in the MW division. Soszynski has been extremely entertaining in the UFC so far. And Rosholt is an interesting prospect, but him against Leben could be a bore (it could also be a crazy KO, too).

And with six prelims and no title fights, it's very likely that a quick finish or two from the prelims will make the PPV. Hopefully Gonzaga/Tuchscherer makes it, because Gonzaga's never had a fight go to decision and Tuchscherer is an interesting newcomer considering he's 17-1, huge, and training with Lesnar and Sherk.

This card is also remarkable in how close the main fights are. Nog/Couture, Maia/Marquardt, and Silva/Jardine are all pretty much 50/50. A lot of intrigue in how it all shakes out, as opposed to 101 when everyone should have been able to pick Silva and Penn walking away with easy wins.

So yeah, not the flashiest card, but there's a lot to it. A very good in-between-huge-fights card, one that I'm looking forward to.

[MC Fatigue]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

Soszynski is looking like a work horse right now. The man will have fought 4 times now since December. Even fought in back to back UFC events (97-98) just a month apart.

I'm almost expecting to see him on every card now.

[Gibbz]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

Thiago is one of my favorites, and I'm hyped for Nog/Couture.

Seriously looking forward to this card.

[Keith121212]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

Good post Wet Bandit (Home Alone reference? lol)

I'm definitely looking forward to this card. I personally hope "The Polish Experiment" gets finished. He was cocky on TUF, he's even more cocky now and I feel that none of it is warranted. Hopefully Brandon Vera knees him into oblivion or better yet, submits him with a kimura. Not that I think Vera is that great either. There's a good chance he'll end up losing just because. I generally like cockiness btw, its just that I don't like when someone that isn't really that talented or skilled is being cocky. Just my opinion.

[Heelfan71]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

Couture vs. Nog doesn't get my hyped at all. I think both guys are past their prime.

[Sandman42]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

Couture vs. Nog doesn't get my hyped at all. I think both guys are past their prime.

Same for me. I really want to see Marquardt/Maia though.

[aholbert32]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

prolly gonna pass on this card, nogueira is straight boring. and not much else on this card is worth watching..

I'll watch it. Wont pay for it but I will watch it.

[allBthere]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

guys seriously...when's the last time there was an UFN on spike!?!?

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer
• Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow
• Todd Duffee vs. Tim Hague
• Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
• Marcus Aurelio vs. Evan Dunham
• Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson

they could have made this an UFN or something. are they phasing them out or something? They used to have one a month if I remember correctly, and now they haven't had one in a very long time.
Gonzaga, McCully, and Herman would pull viewers on spike.

I think overall prelims aren't seen by the majority of fans so they are a waste, and they need to keep doing free spike events.
I think they should make prelims total unknows and/or bums and put the semi-recognizable names who aren't main event material on UFN cards.

[Wet Bandit]

Re: UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira

The last Fight Night was in April. The next one will be in September.

Fight Nights have never been once a month. There's been 18 Fight Nights in just under four years. The closest two Fight Nights have been was seven weeks apart.

And prelims are rarely a waste. There's a lot of reasons for them:

-They help convince people to shell out hundreds dollars on tickets as opposed to staying home and watching the same fights on TV for $45.

-They're a great way to almost always get one or two more interesting fights onto a PPV.

-They're necessary to deal with time issues that can come up during PPVs considering fights can end anywhere from 10 seconds after they start to almost 30 minutes after they start.

That being said, they certainly don't need six (or more) prelims each PPV. But that's because of an embarassment of riches at this particular point. They've currently got a lot of talent signed and not enough shows for them to fight. I'm sure they'll find an equilibrium at some point, either with more aggressive cutting of underperforming fighters, or by adding in more shows (if, for example, they get a network TV deal done).