" if Nogueira is not in his mid 40s, he should be because he looks like it " a majority of pros are picking couture to win... http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/pros-picks-couture-vs-nogueira-19340 no surprises here...i'm also picking couture , because nogueira is shot. he looked like **** in his very first ufc fight (against Herring) looked like **** against Sylvia & Mir too... I don't see any changes in this one. My heart says Nogueira but my head says Couture. The last time Nog had a solid performance was against Josh Barnett. in 2006
I think Nog can do alittle better then he has he didnt look to be in the best phyiscal shape in the Sylvia,Mir and last Herring fight and judging by the pictures of him training he looks alot better. Its hard for a guy to forget the kind of boxing and BJJ technique he has I think alot of what happened with Mir has to do with 1 the staph infection and 2 Mirs unpredictabilty bothered him with his angles,the inside leg kicks,the head movement etc. No doubt Nogueira is past his best but if he brings the best he has at this stage hes still a dangerous fighter theres no doubt although Coutures BJJ defense has improved that Nogueira is still the better JiuJitsu guy and has a chance there since you know at some point this fight will hit the ground.
Jesus, c'mon man. You dont think theres a trend that hes looked bad in his LAST 3 FIGHTS? Mir wasnt unpredictable at all. He essentially nailed Nog with the same combinations throughout the fight. Mir is a mediocre striker at best who gets torched by SMW boxers in Vegas. Nog never had great boxing. And if you lose on your feet to Frank Mir, your boxing is downright laughable. He looked terrible against Mir, worst ive ever seen him. He was a punching bag. And Nog was never hard to hit but against Mir, anybody could have hit him. He couldnt anticipate or react to punches. If Mir bothered him on his feet, he needs to retire, Mir is awful. Nog will go down as the #2 best HW in MMA history but man at this point the guy just needs to throw in the towel. Easy win for Couture, but really I hope i'm wrong. But I just dont see it happening.
i'd argue that Nog looked just as terrible against Herring.. (yes he still won but looked like absolute **** and almost got koed out cold). And it's even more shocking when you compare that fight to the two previous ones he had in pride fc vs the same opponent.
They're both shot so it should even out. Couture might look like he has more in the tank than big nog but i won't count out big nog in this fight. big nog is very dangerous on the ground so i won't bve surprise if he somehow pulls out a submission win.
I think both are past it. I like them both a lot. This fight has little significance IMO, but should be a good one.
