If Couture thinks UFC 102′s performance is not a disappointment, UFC 105′s probably will be
By Yehia El Behery on Nov 12, 2009
Ever since his fight with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102, Randy Couture kept saying that the fight proved he can still fight and that he is not done yet. The fight (like every other Couture fight since the Tim Sylvia fight) really proved that Couture is ageless, still improvig (and has sick submission defense) but it also showed (shockingly) that The Natural actually comes up with bad game plans sometimes (not a single takedown attempt, come on).
A lot of the wrestlers in MMA have this thing where they decide to abandon wrestling and start boxing, Which sometimes results in them losing fights they could’ve easily won. Of course it’s nessecary for fighters to be well rounded but come fight time why not take the easiest way to the win and fight where you’re best at. Just see the second Georges St-Pierre – Matt Serra fight.
Couture says he is over it (the boxing thing) and he will try to make Brandon Vera wrestle him. I’m not sure he will though so I’m not gonna predict the fight, I’m still upset about the last one.
I’m not gonna leave you without a prediction though, Swick by the way of first round technical knockout. Hardy is not ready yet for Swick.
Originally posted on my blog MMAStaredown.com
Filed Under: Predictions
I don’t think that Randy’s takedown-free gameplan was that bad an idea. He wanted to stay away from the guard, and that’s a pretty good idea for Randy, given that he’s run into problems with good grapplers before.
That said, I think Randy Couture is going to keep fighting well. He’s a great fighter, and hopefully he’ll beat Brandon Vera soundly and start to mix things up at 205 a little bit.
(not a single takedown attempt, come on).
Did you not remember him getting swept on multiple occasions in the fight?
He shouldve stayed in the clinch a lot longer with Nog, and gone for some tds near the bell.
Hopefully he realizes that Vera is a much better striker than Nogueira and I think if he gets into a clinch game with Vera he may also loose. Couture never matched up with BJJ guys well, even with his submission defenses he still gets caught out of position by them. If he tries to out strike Vera he may get KO’d.
Boxing in MMA is overrated I think and a lot of these guys who focus on it end up loosing in the end, especially to Muay Thai fighters. The stances, ways you throw a punch, and other aspects of boxing leave a fighter open to counters from other styles. Just my humble opinion.
Bill
No chance. Vera has been poor since returning from his hiatus he will not be able to handle randys in your face tactics. This fight is all set for randy to fight the winner of silva/evans in a title contender decider in my opinion
ian
It has always bothered me when wrestlers give up trying to ground and pound in place of a stand up war. I think that Sherk is the best example of this. He has completely gotten away from what made him dominate. He now try to stand and trade with guys who are much younger and much quicker then him. Not to mention he has T-Rex size reach.
Either way i think this will be a good fight. I see Randy trying to get it to the ground but paying for it every time he does so. I think it is about time that we see the Vera we were supposed to see when he made the drop to LHW.
Couture has nothing more to prove, win or lose he is the greatest. I only want him to win because I don’t like Vera so much.