UFC 102: "Couture vs Nogueira" Results
by Robert Sargent
The UFC's first trip to Oregon was very successful, though most of the home state fighters came up short. In an incredible main event, Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira put on a great performance and defeated Randy "The Natural" Couture.
The co-main event did not last long, as Thiago Silva weathered early strikes from "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine and picked up a first-round knockout win.
Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira vs Randy "The Natural" Couture
Clearly in the best shape that he's been in since 2005, Nogueira showcased impressive boxing skills and submissions, and nullified most of Couture's limited offence on the ground en route to a clear-cut Unanimous Decision in a great fight.Quick punches were exchanged early on and Nogueira briefly looked for a clinch. Right hooks followed and Nogueira tried unsuccessfully to pull guard. Both fighters landed short strikes in a pair of clinches. Nogueira rocked Couture with a right cross and dropped him with a right hook. He immediately locked on a Brabo Choke and tried to roll into his trademarked Anaconda Choke. Couture survived and battled back to his feet. Both fighters landed solid punches in an exchange and Nogueira punctuated it with a flurry to the body and two hard hooks to the face. Couture countered with a big combination of his own. A huge exchange of wild punches followed, with both landing some good shots. Couture cut Nogueira below the left eye and pressed him against the cage. Excellent round. 10-9 Nogueira.
Nogueira staggered Couture with a one-two in the opening seconds of round two and attempted a guillotine choke, but Couture wound up on top and worked from Nogueira's guard. Couture scored with short elbows and punches, but could not land anything damaging. Nogueira swept Couture and wound up in mount, then landed punches from half-guard. Nogueira secured an arm-triangle choke, but was unable to pass to Couture's left side to fully lock in the choke. Nogueira punched from the top, but Couture got out of the choke in the process. With just over one minute left in the round, Couture scrambled to his feet and evaded a guillotine choke attempt. Couture landed a pair of big left hooks, but Nogueira countered with a knee to the body and a leg kick. Another great round. 10-9 Nogueira.
Both fighters landed combinations in the early stages of round three and Nogueira followed up with a one-two that backed Couture up. He floored Couture with a massive right hook that had Couture in all sorts of trouble, but Couture somehow managed to recover and survived a barrage of hammerfists. Nogueira passed to side-control and cut Couture beside the right eye with punches. He continued to land strikes until Couture tried to work back to his feet. Nogueira took Couture's back and looked to set up a rear naked choke, but Couture got out and wound up in Nogueira's guard. Nogueira prevented Couture from posturing up, but Couture managed to sneak in a handful of elbows. Nogueira swept Couture right at the bell, but the phenomenal fight came to an end. 10-9 Nogueira.
All three judges awarded the fight to Nogueira, though Glenn Trowbridge somehow scored one round for Couture, but this was truly a fight where there were no losers. Even in defeat, Couture showed huge heart and put on a very game performance. He won't be retiring anytime soon. For Nogueira, this looked to mark the return of the man who ran through just about everyone in PRIDE for years.
Winner: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 32-5-1, 1 NC.
Thiago Silva vs "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine
Though Jardine punished Silva with a vicious leg kick early on and seemed to land the more effective strikes, it was not enough and Silva soon dropped him with a punch and knocked him out cold seconds later.Jardine looked to set up a flurry of punches right away and scored with a very hard leg kick, but Silva was unfazed and continued to walk Jardine down. Silva caught a body kick from Jardine and threw him to the mat, but was unable to do anything and Jardine got back to his feet. Jardine threw a combination, but Silva dropped him with a counter left hook. From a standing position, Silva rained down punches until Jardine was unconscious and the referee stopped the fight.
The win gets Silva back on-track, but it leaves Jardine in a tricky position and it remains to be seen whether he'll get to stick around in the UFC or not. If he does, he will likely be relegated to the undercard.
Winner: Thiago Silva by KO (Punches) at 1:34 of round one. He improves to 14-1-0.
Jake Rosholt vs Chris "The Crippler" Leben
Showing vastly improved skills from his disastrous UFC debut against Dan Miller, Rosholt surprisingly won many of the striking battles with Leben and eventually finished the fight with an arm-triangle choke in the third round.Rosholt landed a handful of solid leg kicks in the opening 90 seconds, but very little transpired aside from a few missed kicks from Leben. Both fighters landed weak leg kicks and Leben finally seemed to find his range. Rosholt scored with a flying knee, but Leben threw him to the mat. Leben began bleeding beside the eye from the flying knee and Rosholt got back to his feet. More leg kicks were exchanged and Rosholt landed a nice punch, then clinched and scored a takedown. He briefly moved to mount, then tried for a guillotine choke. Rosholt landed a knee to the face as Leben stood up. Leben rushed forward with ridiculously wild punches that all missed by a mile in the final 15 seconds. 10-9 Rosholt.
Rosholt opened round two with a hard one-two, but Leben countered a head kick with a left hook that sent Rosholt to the mat. Leben landed strikes from half-guard, but Rosholt quickly regained full guard. Rosholt tried for a triangle choke, but Leben easily escaped and landed more punches and short elbows from the top. The fight was brought back to the feet and Leben looked to set up a big left hand. Leben partially landed a head kick and drilled Rosholt with a left cross. He clinched and pressed Rosholt against the cage, then peppered him with a series of foot stomps. Rosholt broke free and landed a nice combination, then took Leben down. He briefly looked for a choke, then moved to half-guard. Leben got to his feet and threw more wild punches before the bell, with a few landing squarely. 10-9 Leben.
Round three began with a takedown from Rosholt and he immediately looked to set up an arm-triangle choke from half-guard. He let it go and moved to mount, then rained down elbows. Leben rolled to his side, but Rosholt took his back and tried for a rear naked choke. When that didn't work, Rosholt weakened Leben's defences with punches and locked on a tight arm-triangle choke. Leben tried to fight it off and looked like he was attempting to tap out, but instead went to sleep. Rosholt picks up a huge win.
Winner: Jake Rosholt by Technical Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 1:28 of round three. He improves to 6-1-0.
Nate "The Great" Marquardt vs Demian Maia
Though Maia's striking actually looked to be pretty decent in the opening 15 seconds, all it took was one punch from Marquardt to end this fight in quick and dramatic fashion.The fight began with kicks from Maia, whose stance and striking style have clearly benefited greatly from working with Wanderlei Silva, but only one kick partially landed. As Maia went to throw another kick to the body, Marquardt countered with an overhand right that sent Maia crashing head-first into the canvas, reminiscent of Fedor Emelianenko's knockout of Andrei Arlovski. Marquardt opted against throwing any more unnecessary punches and the fight was quickly stopped, putting Marquardt one step closer to another title shot.
Winner: Nate Marquardt by KO (Punch) at 0:19 of round one. He improves to 29-8-2.
Brandon "The Truth" Vera vs "The Polish Experiment" Krzysztof Soszynski
This fairly uneventful fight saw Vera pick up another much-needed win, but he appears to have lost nearly all of the explosive striking power that he possessed early in his career and it seems as though the light heavyweight division may not be the best for him after all.Soszynski rushed forward very aggressively and landed quick punches, but Vera stopped him in his tracks with a hard kick to the liver. Soszynski immediately slowed down and stayed on the outside. The fighters traded strikes from a distance and Vera landed hard kicks to the leg and body. More leg kicks followed from Vera and he just missed with a wicked uppercut. Soszynski clinched and pressed Vera against the cage, then landed short knees to the legs. After a separation, Vera continued to target the legs with kicks, but Soszynski threw quick punches and kicks from a distance and blocked a head kick. Another clinch saw both fighters land knees. Vera landed combinations of punches and leg kicks, but Soszynski replied with a flurry of his own and looked for a takedown before the bell. 10-9 Vera.
Vera scored with a left hook and a right cross to begin round two, but Soszynski tagged him with a rapid-fire series of punches and clinched against the cage. Knees and short elbows were exchanged and the fighters separated. Vera shrugged off a takedown attempt from Soszynski and landed another leg kick. An inadvertent clash of heads knocked out Vera's mouthpiece, but the fight resumed and both landed punches. Soszynski tried for another takedown, but Vera had none of it. Soszynski secured a Thai clinch, but could do nothing with it. He finally managed to get Vera to the ground, but Vera got up and the clinch resumed. Vera landed knees to the legs and two elbows over the top to end the round. 10-9 Vera.
Soszynski opened round three with a left cross and Vera immediately countered with a right. As the commentators continued to ignore everything that Soszynski did in the fight, he backed Vera up with punches and landed knees in a clinch. Vera looked to counter with a standing Kimura, but Soszynski escaped and backed away. Soszynski used a Thai clinch to land two knees and both fighters kneed the legs of the other. Vera scored a takedown and partially took Soszynski's back, where he landed punches to the side of Soszynski's head. Soszynski got up and was hit with a knee below the belt. Time was called, but action resumed and the fighters traded punches. Soszynski secured another Thai clinch and landed two more knees, but Vera replied with a combination. Both fighters landed left and right hooks and Vera mixed in kicks to the body. The final 15 seconds saw each fighter score with some decent strikes. 10-9 Vera.
Winner: Brandon Vera by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 11-3-0.
Aaron "A-Train" Simpson vs Ed "Short Fuse" Herman
After his knee was injured during a Simpson takedown late in round one, Herman foolishly tried to continue in the second round - and the referee should never have let him fight on anyway - and likely wound up doing severe damage to his knee when it buckled badly just seconds into round two.Simpson landed a right hook in the opening 30 seconds, but was hit with a flurry of punches in return. A left hook landed for Simpson, but he was again countered by a big punch from Herman, who just missed with a head kick. Simpson landed a right hook and scored a takedown, then jarred Herman with two vicious right hooks as Herman stood up. Simpson slammed Herman down to the mat and looked to tee off with punches from a standing position. Herman attempted a pair of crazy head kicks from his back, but Simpson dodged them and landed strikes to his downed foe. Two upkicks from Herman backed Simpson off, but Simpson regained his composure and landed three hard punches, then dropped Herman with a right hook to the temple. More huge punches landed for Simpson on the ground, but Herman recovered and eventually got up. Simpson took him down again and Herman injured his knee in the process. Simpson unleashed a barrage of punches, but Herman made it to the bell and limped to his corner. 10-9 Simpson.
Clearly in no condition to continue, Herman instead came out for round two and threw a body kick, but his knee immediately buckled badly and he fell to the mat in great pain. The fight was waved off, giving Simpson the victory, and Herman's guts (or foolishness) likely caused a much more serious injury.
Winner: Aaron Simpson by TKO (Knee Injury) at 0:14 of round two. He improves to 6-0-0.
Todd Duffee vs Tim "The Thrashing Machine" Hague
Setting a new (official) record for fastest knockout in UFC history, Duffee dropped Hague with a left and teed off with punches until Hague was rendered unconscious in just seven seconds.Duffee dropped Hague immediately with a left hook, then dove in with big rights and lefts and Hague was quickly unconscious. Just like that, the fight was over.
Though Duffee's seven-second victory is now the new official record as fastest knockout in the UFC, the true fastest knockout belongs to Duane "Bang" Ludwig, who flash KOed Jonathan "The Road Warrior" Goulet in four seconds at UFC Fight Night 3. However, the clock continued to run until the 11-second mark in that fight, so it never stood as an official record.
Winner: Todd Duffee by KO (Punches) at 0:07 of round one. He improves to 5-0-0.
Evan Dunham vs Marcus "Maximus" Aurelio
After dropping Aurelio and dominating round one, Dunham did just enough in the razor-thin second round and survived an onslaught from Aurelio (who took the fight on short notice) in round three to take an extremely close Split Decision win.Dunham scored with quick punches in the opening seconds, but Aurelio connected with a looping right hook. Dunham landed more fast punches and a solid uppercut, but Aurelio countered with another right hook. The fighters traded one-twos and Dunham followed with a lead right hook. A combination landed for Dunham and he dropped Aurelio with a hard two-punch follow-up. Aurelio immediately recovered, but Dunham blasted him with some heavy shots on the ground and seemed poised to become the first man to ever stop Aurelio. However, Aurelio survived and Dunham allowed him to stand up. Dunham stuffed a takedown attempt, but Aurelio managed to land two flurries of punches. Aurelio was again unsuccessful in taking the fight to the ground, but connected with another right hook. Dunham countered with punches of his own and backed Dunham up. Both fighters landed punches before the bell. 10-9 Dunham.
Dunham defended three takedown attempts in the opening minute and landed a nice leg kick, then connected with a left cross. Aurelio scored with a big right cross and finally got Dunham down. From half-guard, Aurelio landed punches, but Dunham got back to his feet. Aurelio connected with a pair of hard right hooks and began to become the aggressor. He landed more punches and backed Dunham up against the cage. Dunham broke free and landed a trio of lead right hooks and a body kick, then followed with a flying knee. Aurelio tried for another takedown against the cage, but could not get Dunham down. Aurelio landed a right cross, but was hit with a one-two in reply. Both landed leg kicks and punches to end the extremely close round. 10-9 Aurelio. Barely.
Aurelio took Dunham down to begin the third round and worked from the top. He landed elbows and short punches and tried to move to mount. Dunham scrambled and stood up, then escaped a standing guillotine choke. Aurelio switched to a D'Arce Choke and tried to roll into an Anaconda Choke, but Dunham survived and stood up. Aurelio continued to press forward and scored another takedown, but Dunham got back to his feet again. Aurelio tried for a third takedown, but briefly wound up on his back. The fighters stood up and traded punches. Dunham managed to land a solid one-two and stuffed a takedown, then landed a head kick. Both landed big punches in the final seconds. 10-9 Aurelio.
The first two judges were split between Aurelio and Dunham with scores of 29-28 either way, while the third returned a ridiculous score of 30-27 for Dunham. The final round was clearly Aurelio's, so that was some truly awful scoring.
Winner: Evan Dunham by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 9-0-0.
Undercard Fights:
Gabriel "Napćo" Gonzaga defeated Chris "The Crowbar" Tuchscherer by TKO (Punches) at 2:27 of round one. This fight was an extremely controversial one, as Gonzaga hit Tuchscherer with one of the hardest (if not the hardest) kicks to the groin in MMA history just seconds into the fight. Tuchscherer dropped to the mat and was coughing up blood, then later threw up into a bucket. At this point, the fight clearly should have been stopped and ruled a No Contest, as Tuchscherer was in no shape to continue. However, after a lengthy break, the fight resumed and Gonzaga dropped Tuchscherer with a left head kick, then followed with punches on the ground. Tuchscherer survived for a while, but was overwhelmed with strikes and began to bleed profusely from the nose. Finally, the fight was stopped, but this should never have continued after the brutal groin strike. Gonzaga improves to 11-4-0 with the win.Mike Russow defeated Justin "The Nsane1" McCully by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. The opening round was almost entirely a ground battle, as takedowns and reversals made up the duration. After the round, physicians came into the ring to check on McCully for an undetermined reason, but he was allowed to continue. The second and third rounds were all Russow, as he took McCully down at will and attempted a number of submissions. He nearly finished the fight with a Kimura on McCully's left arm in round two, but the bell sounded to end the round. In the end, the decision was academic and McCully has likely come to the end of his UFC career, while Russow has a bright future ahead of him. Russow improves to 12-1-0, 1 NC with the win.
"The Filipino Wrecking Machine" Mark Munoz defeated Nick Catone by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. Just as in the Dunham vs Aurelio bout, the scoring from one judge in this fight was atrocious. The first round was a back-and-forth battle of takedowns and clinch control, with Catone having a slight edge. Catone scored a takedown in round two and landed a trio of hard right hands later in the round before evading a guillotine choke shortly before the bell. Round three was definitely Munoz's, as he was the aggressor with strikes and in the takedown department. Catone was never in any danger, but had to backpedal to dodge combinations from Munoz. With round one seemingly the deciding factor, this fight should have been a 29-28 bout either way, but the judge giving all three rounds to Munoz might consider paying a little more attention in the future. Munoz improves to 6-1-0 with the win.
Though most of the Oregon natives on the card fell short, the UFC's first foray into the state resulted in an excellent show and an even better main event that showcased two of the most legendary fighters in mixed martial arts history.
