http://mmajunkie.com/news/31351/ant...um-reportedly-agree-to-coach-tuf-brazil-2.mma Think that Werdum takes the rematch. I also think that the Werdum of today very likely could have beaten a prime Nog. Werdum had very little striking skill in their first match, and Nog won it with his boxing. Werdum is obviously the better grappler, and at this point, is a more complete striker than Nog, and he seems to be in his prime. Unless Nog catches him on the chin and puts him away, I think Werdum will look pretty dominant.
Werdum is looking like the best challenger to JDS' crown IMO. As long as Dan Cormier wants to go through with his ridiculous plan to hit 205.
This is a good rematch for the two. Nog seems to be on his way out while Werdum has arguably been unbeaten since he lost to JDS.
Can't really see a way for Nog to win this, considering how Werdum has looked lately. But I'd love to be proven wrong.
JDS probably knocks Werdum out again if they do end up having a rematch. Werdum definitely underestimated him in the first match, though, and came in terribly out of shape.
Nog should retire, he`s a shell of himself now, he beat Werdum when both were prime, he`s practically handing Werdum a 1-1 result between the 2 just like Wanderlei handed Rampage a 1-2 after being 2-0 up.
Considering these two are probably the 1 and 2 ATG BJJ guys in the HW division, it feels a bit weird to say Werdums boxing probably wins this
I see what you are saying to a degree, based on some of Werdum's recent wins; but I have to disagree. It's weird, because it won't be the case. Maybe Werdum's hand speed wins at this point, but it won't be on boxing technique alone. Nogueira has the best boxing technique I've seen out of any heavyweight in mma. Maybe Werdum could mix in some kicks to get things going for him, but I don't see him winning on hands alone. Werdum wings too much from the sides, and Nog is more down the middle.
Im not saying that Werdum is going to be Sugar Ray in there. But I think that Nog on the ground has enough left in him to at least make it a stalemate and most of the scoring will be done on the brief exchanges on the feet. He isnt as quick or as heavy handed to put Nog away as Cain or Mir are, but he can do significant, if fleeting damage Werdum is heavy handed enough and Nog's boxing has declined, well at least his reactions have, to make the fight a battle for the TD and dominant position on the mat. Nog's stand up won him the 1st encounter, and unfortunately the roles are reversed as too who has the upper hand in that department. It's an interesting fight in that factor, even though Id rather see Werdum fight someone higher up in the top 10
He probably will Rob. But the smart thing to do would be to avoid the grappling and take advantage of the battle worn Nog's lack of speed, always his biggest weakness. But he has no worries on the ground against Nog so will probably not be wary of the clinch, as he is probably not reluctant to hit the mat in this one. Just cant see Nog taking too many knees in the clinch before e works the TD. He'll probably welcome Nogs trademark inside trip. But as i said, it will probably be a heavy punch that garners a crowd reaction that wins a round in this one, and in tis aspect I favour Fabricio I hope we get 15 minutes of grappling ala Couture v Nog though
