Former champions and mixed martial arts legends Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira could meet in an epic match up at UFC 101 in August, according to MMAWeekly.com.
The report does not provide a date or location for the event; however, it indicates that “The Natural” has agreed to the clash of heavyweight titans.
This, of course, is the dream match up that most fans expected to see on May 23 before Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir played spoiler roles in the opening round of the mini heavyweight tournament created in late 2008 to crown an undisputed division champion.
Couture recently indicated that he was interested in a fight against Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic when the promotion storms the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, for UFC 99 on June 13. However, he apparently did not have enough time to prepare because he will be on a movie set alongside action stars Jet Li, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren in Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming action flick “The Expendables.”
This is not the first time that Couture has been offered a fight with “Big Nog.” He balked at the opportunity while he was in a contract dispute with the promotion for most of 2008, saying the fight that he wanted most was one against WAMMA deity Fedor Emelianenko.
Now that he is coming off surgery and another movie role, UFC 101 could finally be the event that brings the former kings together.
More on this in a bit.
105 Comments »
This match up doesn’t seem as epic now that they are both coming off losses. Put this on the ufc 100 card instead of having it headline 101. But I’m going to pick Couture by decision in this one.
I will believe it when I see it! I still dont think Randy wants any part of Noguiera!
i am still happy to see it, its a match up that the ufc needs to put together, i am with you john that i won’t really beleave till its signed.
This is a fight that needs to happen. Plus, given their ages (especially Couture), this is one of the last opportunities for them to fight. Sign the contract Randy.
He did… The ball is in Nog’s court. The old guy vs. the really old looking guy. This fight is happening a little to late to mean much, but should be good none the less.
BNF-who’s the “really old looking guy” here, Nog? Hehe! randy looks like a grampa too you know…
Yes, yes he does…
I am with John. This fight ain’t happening, trust me there will be an excuse from the natural soon enough.
he does look old but NOG’s only 33!!
In a way your all right…I think Randy was ducking NOG in a way. He’s wanted to fight Fedor for a LONG time now. Why would he accept a fight against someone that Fedor beat. If he loses, the mysteries gone, it would no longer be a fight between the 2 best HW’s in the world just a fight. He REALLY wanted his legacy to end with a fight with Fedor, that didn’t happen, so now he’s left to fight top contenders in a race against time which he certainly isn’t winning at a pace of 1 fight a year.
check that, NOG is only 32!!!!!! Try to wrap your head around this…Randy’s 45, NOG’s 32…now, imagine what NOG will look like in 13 years when he’s Randy’s age!!! That is some crazy sh*t right there dudes!
YAWN!!!!
Tough fight to bet on – wonder what the line will be
all the punches nog has taken to the face are really showing… when he was against mir he looked like he’d already been in a brawl with someone before he got in the cage to fight him
IF this fight does happen it’ll be a battle of the legends …. its a shame this fight couldnt of happened when both fighters were in there prime
anyway judging by both these fighters last performance i’m going to say randy by TKO
cmon John, I’m not even close to a couture fan, but use your head. A guy calling out Fedor isn’t ducking anyone!!
nog wins this fight, I don’t really see too many fights Randy can win anymore!
Randy has no chance against big nog. I think big nog took mir a little to lightly and was a bit out of shape. I think nog will be out to send a message that he can still dominate.
BIG NOG BY 2nd Round SUB
You cant see any fights that couture can win anymore??!! why? because he lost to a ficking gorrilla?
“took mir lightly”
what part of “nog was coming off of staph and injured” didn’t you get.
On top of that, why does no one give mir the respect he deserves? He beat Sylvia when Timmy was a beast, and beat brock and Nog in succession, give the guy his due!!
Fedor-no
Nog- no
LHW’s- no
He’s not gonna take a low profile bout.
he could gnp cro cop. you happy now belfort fan?
Kevin, you just said Mir doesn’t get his due and Nog was injured and had staph infection in the same post, need I say more. He also caught Brock making a rookie mistake. Won’t happen again… I used to be a big Mir fan. Now since the show, not so much.
I agree… no matter how hard Randy trains, father time has not been on his side for years. I like him, but there are only a few fighters he is capable of beating at this point of his career. Nog is not one of them.
kev mir is not that good, i will try not to say he sucks if thats what you mean by giving him his props but thats about as much as i can give him.middle of the pack fighter is about what i rate him.
BNF, I know what I said. Mir wasn’t taken lightly by nog though. Nog himself never mentioned injury, everyone else did. I’m not saying Mir is ready for Fedor, but cmon, he’s a top guy!
Like someone below said, Nog hasn’t been very impressive as of late. Even if you give him a bye on the Mir fight, he was getting killed in the Sylvia fight (if the Kos/Thiago ref were there, Timmy woulda been the champ)and the same thing could be applied to the Herring face-kick. John you’ve said if a fighter is out for even a split second then they should lose because they were knocked out. Well, Nog should have lost to Herring.
Couture, while having lost to Brock, was hanging in there and I thought for sure he would take him in the later rounds. Add to that the domination of Timmy and Gonzaga (yeah I know they were a long time ago, but I’m going 3 fights back for each guy), then Randy has higher momentum going into this fight.
Sucks that it will only be a 3 rounder though. This is one of those matches where you wish all Main Events were 5 rounds.
Anyway, I got Randy by either a 3rd round stoppage, or a decision, I don’t know either Unanimous or Split, both are possible.
Kevin, just wait and see Randy will beat Nog. i agree he would get slaughtered by Fedor, and he is too slow and old for the lhws but he will beat Nog I think he is good enough to avoid the sub and a way better kickboxer than Nog. Your just a fucking Randy hater!
I do agree with you about the whole Mir subject aswell tho. Mir beat Nog’s ass and would do it again. Im not sure he is going to beat Lesnar again but i hope he does. i give Mir all the credit in the world.
Totally agree with you Belfort fan. Mir showed he can box during the Nog fight and if Mir can box, he is going to be hard for anyone to beat. These guys might be old but they still can win against the best of them.
I’m not a Randy hater at all bud! I may like and dislike certain fighters, but I always keep it real! I think Randy was outwrestling Brock until he got caught, and that will be Randy’s achilles heal for the remainder of his carreer. His age is slowing him down, and his chin isn’t great! Randy a better kickboxer than nog??? maybe, but Nog is a better pure boxer, and can take more shots, add to that randy doesn’t have KO power, and I pick NOg. Don’t call me a hater though bro, I just call it as I see it and don’t hold back!
Roy: Middle of the pack fighters don’t beat Lesnars. Check out Heath Herring.
Look Kevin i never said mir was a bad fighter i just believe that big nog is a better fighter.
Mir can’t box. No one else noticed how stiff his upper body was. He had great movement and a decent combo but his boxing didn’t rise to new levels.
he did good there, and his bbj is great so he will beat strikers with no take down defense, but i dout he will ever beat mit again and he did get some help in that fight. middle of the pack sorry thats just how i see if he goes on to beat any other top guy i will be wrong but i don’t think we will see him keep the belt or beat any other top guy again.
ps. syd that was lesnars 2nd fight 1st in the ufc, styles make fights herring had the stlye for lesnar to beat mir at the time had what he needed to win,it wasn’t that impressive and lesnar is a handfull but he still has some things to prove as well.
Mir is trash! The same people who talk about how horrible Nog looked, are the ones that praise Mir….I dont get it, what kind of logic is that?
Let me run off a list of fighters that Mir CANT beat:
Fedor
Couture
Arlovski
Barnett
Werdum
Gonzaga
The version of Nog that showed up to fight Herring
Doubt he could outstrike Carwin, and he sure as hell aint taking Carwin down
Brock Lesnar other than Brocks 1st UFC fight!
Sorry guys, Mir is not a fighter who DESERVED to fight for a title….and I am big on DESERVING title shots! When we crown a new champion, he has to Merrit being in that position top beat the champ. This is mma, where ANYone can beat Anyone on a given night…..If only fighters who have EARNED the right, get title shots, we will always have a credible champion. Something Mir is not….brock isnt credible either, cause he only competed in the sport 4 times….but at least the Brockness MOnster has potential…..Mir doesnt even have that!
I don’t think so either..
Yo John holla at me about tomorrow.. I’m taking the off from work.. let me know what time.. I can meet you at Penn Station..what time.. your planning on coming through.
John I knew you were gonna say that, but the ball is in nogs court now, Captain America is waiting
Yeah, Randy really does want no part of Nog! I mean, what if one of the many times he’s gonna get knocked down in that fight, he fell on Randy? He could get really hurt!
haha… watchin what mir did to nogiuera…my lil sister can go a couple rounds with him
I was actually looking for this comment from you John, and you didn’t dissapoint. As I have said bfore, you had better hope they do not fight because Nog has not shown anything for Randy or the rest of the top heavyweights to worry about. I beleive he has had one war and taken one punch too many, there is a possibility tha he may improve, but I do not see it being enough to threaten the guys at the top of the division.
Yeah, they’re both over the hill and I don’t think are top contenders anymore.
Couture would/will Cruch Nogueira
Excellent. I’ve been hoping to see this match for a while now. Nog, despite his showing vs. Mir, is still a tough competitor who isn’t running around 50lbs heavier than most heavy weights (and no.. I am not referring to big Timmeh) and Randy still appears to have gas in the tank. Randy did neutralize Brock until he got ham hocked right?
Randy’s gas is like diesel. His old engine takes a little longer to heat up.
so i taje it cro cop vs couture got wiped?
I would rather see Cro-Cop and Liddell throw down. Or even a Wandi/Cro Cop 3 would be kind of cool. Wouldn’t make much sense but oh well.
Crocop at Light Heavy would be awesome!
Should be a great fight, am looking forward to it.
I would rather see a Crocop Nog rematch but this fight is probably the best move for both fighters.
IMO Nog has looked pretty mediocre in all of his UFC fights – he was within an inch of being stopped by both Herring and Silvia and he looked pretty slow against Mir. Hopefully Nog comes in at 100% this time and puts on a good show.
You wonder how much both of these guys have left in the tank but it will be a sick fight regardless.
Hopefully Nog will get stoped for the second time in him carreer.
Randy U want Fedor but u keep Dodging noguera Whats up with that! make this happen
Go to BloodyElbow.com, Randy has signed off on the fight and is waiting for Nog, Randy doesnt need to “dodge” anyone, look at his track record and tell me he ducks people, seriously
His record is terrible, tbh.
Look who he has fought only one of his last 14 fights was non title. He fights the best, win or lose, if they would have babied him like they did Chuck, he would have about 4 or 5 less losses….TBH
his record may not be the best but no one has faced the level of competition he has. 13 of his last 14 fights were for titles. he wasn’t ducking anybody. he was trying to set up a superfight with the best hw in the world for a shitload of money rather than fight nog for nowhere near as much.
Two future hall of famers. Couture will be victorious in this one. It should be a great stratigic battle and good fight for the hardcore MMA fan’s. Age is not a factor, their both old.
Puck, Randy is so old, he IS ALREADY in the Hall of Fame.
He may be old, but can still get the job done, a good fight.
I am really getting sick of hearing about Randy to be Honest.. An over the Top Noguera, or not will make shot work of Randy!
The ONLY Reason Randy Looked good in the UFC Heavyweight Division was because there was no-one with any real talent. Fedor proved that with the destuction of 2 top UFC fighters with less than 1 round combined.
Fuck Off Randy!
I kind of agree.
He was also the LHW champ? Couture beat Tim too big whoopy doo! Who was the last top contender Fedor beat…..AA and Tim were not a top contenders you can maybe say Cro Cop? Fedor is suppose too fight Barnett who has been ranked the top contender outside the UFC for some time now. It will be a much better fight if Barnett can get it to the ground he has brutal stand up. I have seen the talent grow and evolve in the UFC ask Cro Cop, but I can’t say the same for Fedor. I know that’s going to get some of you fuming but that’s my honest opinion, I loved watching Fedor in Pride but I don’t think he has evolved nearly as much as the UFC fighter’s? Let me have it now guy’s lol.
I agree Beaver great post, some guy’s will argue? Then prove it! Brock will not be beat unless he makes a mistake. I know my MMA and being a former wrestler I know how good he is. The guy is a freak and I hope him and Fedor get too fight so I can say “i told you fools so” records don’t mean sh^t when your the champ and your not facing the #2 or #3 ranked opponents yeah I know there’s not much outside the UFC to pick from at least pick the best? You fools can waste your money on Affliction. I’ll watch MMA in the octagon were it belongs. There is a reason more fan’s watch a re-run of a UFC fight than a Afflictions live show.
Classy comment Gumbo, cause telling a fighter to fuck off isnt fighter bashing or anything, get some class to go with that awesome opinion of yours
I think that Gonzaga has great tools and skills to use them. Randy’s gameplan worked out and he got lucky breaking Gonzaga’s nose on a slam.
We’ll I think randy will destroy nog if nod looks the way he did against mir after brock whoops mir for the second time randy should rematch the hulk I don’t think shane is ready yet and gonzaga will get his ass whooped by brock
Hmm…”brock whoops mir for the second time”. Wow, I wasn’t aware Brock won the first fight. That’s news to me buddy.
Yes, Brock lost, but Mir indeed got whooped!
Yea, ok. Keep thinking that.
I will, don’t worry.
So your a Lesnar nut-hugger too? Like you acually think that Mir wont just submit him again? Haha, thats laughable. Cause I’m willing to bet right here, right now that Mir wins by submission Syd. Whats your prediction?
i’ll take a piece of that action BK. u take mir by sub, i’ll take lesnar by stoppage.
No problem then. BTW, nice name dude. That made me laugh alot.
Lesnar nut-hugger? Where’d you get that childish sh1t? You don’t even know me to make that accusation. But anyway, if it wasn’t for the armbar, Mir’s face will be messier.
Mir won by kneebar not armbar dude
Mir is going to get destroyed again, this time Brock will be ready for any Mir suprises. Some of you guy’s just don’t understand how good a wresler Brock is, imagine Matt Hughes a foot taller and 120 pounds! Are add 20 pounds on Barnett, more strength and speed with a stand up. The only negative on Brock is his submission are weak but all he needs to train right now for is defending them. Not only is Brock the strongest HW in the world he is the fastest and possibly the best wrestler! Get your head out of your asses Brock is going to be the champ for a long time!
Brock is the real deal guy’s. I know some of you guy’s judge a fighter only by their records? But there are us out here that know a good fighter when they see one. Brock is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world and I mean the real wrestling! You ask Dana or any MMA fighter that has seen him train and they will tell you he is the hardest worker they ever seen! There’s reason he is already battling for the belt this early in MMA. There is not a fighter in the modern day that can do what he has done already. The guy is the strongest and fastest HW in the world. Combine that with His stand up that is good because of his size you can even say great and the fact he one of the best wrestlers in the world he is a freak. Mark my words by next year he will be the most feared HW in the world!
I hate when your post doesn’t show going through the first time! Oh well I made my point twice.
couture will win i can tell you this. he will grind out a late gnp stoppage or a u. decision
Randy the f–kin natural Couture
3d rd tko
Only cus I doubt randy will get subbed and stand up I don’t think nog has ko power like chuck or brock,
So if this is for real
How about Cro Cop vs Dos Santos at 99
Yet another good stand up battle. Good idea. I’d watch it. Also, If Frank Mir loses, I want to see him fight Gonzaga. That would be a great fight.
Two tarined atheletes (fighters) anything can happen. I think Randy is the better fighter in this fight and should win. I think he could have beaten brock and his ko loss was mostly due to size disadvantage. If Randy only has 2 fights left in his contract I think the ufc should use them as big promotion fights, Randy vs Anderson, then if he wins maybe 1 more shot at the 205 strap before he retires. Since a fight vs Fedor doesnt look to be possible anytime soon
Anderson would eat Couture alive no one wants to see that.
I guess if Randy says its ok!!!!
no he wouldnt, he would NOT overpower Randy in the clinch, he would have to catch randy, only chance he would have
They should start using roman numerals again after 100
BMO, I agree, Randy wouldnt last a minute in there against Silva.
So now that this could be the ufc 101 headliner, what are your guys predictions for that third main event caliber match up Dana is talking about in regards to 100. Personally if Silva and Liddell win there next fights, I think this will be that 3rd fight. (God I have no interest in this. According to the article on Junkie, Herring wanted to do 100 cause he has never faught in Veges but Joe Silva told him that he should of requested it a week earlier and it was too late. That tells me they have the main-card secure. If Silva or Liddell drop their next fight, I think they slide in Evans vs either Rampage or Machida for the LHW belt. Silva would then bounce to the summer Europe card for that title shot they were promised. And finally, I hope Okami gets that shot and hopefully Maia and Marquardt battle it out at 100. Thoughts?
Id like to see that maia and nate at 100
But gsp and alves still doesn’t sound right for main event
I think there will be Multiple Co-Main Events at 100 like they did with 92… at least I hope so.
i think this aint as exciting as crocop and couture.and yes this should be another fight on 100 i really hope this aint the main event!!
will it be in philly??
I usually agree w/ john but i dont think randy has ducked anyone. think about it john, he wanted to fight fedor. thats like saying your ducking me to fight rampage. if he’s not afraid of fedor , he damn sure isn’t ducking nog. that is why i like those three they don’t run from anyone. randy just didn’t like the way dana had his contract. i agree he should have done like fedor and not signed. he wanted the big money fight and i wish dana would have set it up also. dana being a cheap ass is what has f*cked up the hw division in the ufc.
silva is fighting in germany against franklin
3rd co main event is evans vs rampage/machida
I say Randy by GnP in the second!
Why so much crap on Mir? He has weaknesses like everyone else (well maybe not Fedor), but he beat Big Nog and is number 2 or 3 (after JB) heavy in the world right now!
man im sick of all these crap fights these guys gotta step up and fight a real fighter like me i got over a 100 street fights and ill knock these to cumps out bring on anyone man they call fedor the best man lets see that dude fight me will see if he can last a round bring on who ever anyone any fighter who dares to step in the ring or cage ima beat you in every aspect of the game bring it on cause ill beat anyone
man these guys gotta man up and fight a young fighter like me ill knock anyone of these bums out hell ill submit there butts to im the best ill beat anyone they put in front of me i have over 100 street fights and 7 victories 0 losses bring on the pain ill beat these both in there best aspects cause im that good bring on fedor just look me up on you tube tell me what you think look up nutty up in comers in mma and you will see me and you will see im the next one up to knock anyone out any divistion it dont matter me ill beat anyone hell ill fight anderson if hes willing to go to 205 for i can knock him out whit my eyes closed
Couture is going to SMASH NOG I guarantee it… any that says otherwise really doesn’t realize how tough Randy was hanging in there with Brock.
I don’t think he will smash him but I think he will win. They need to start making the main card five rounds regardless if there is a belt on the line. A three round fight with two of the most intelligent MMA fighter’s should be a great battle? They both did a lot for the MMA sport, too bad we didn’t see this fight three or four years ago.
I think that it will be a great fight. These two fighters are two of the best fighters there are. I think it will go to the wire, and I believe that Couture will pull it out.
great chess match!
Nicee fight.. will watch it for SURE.. go Couture
i for one would liek to see this fight
Randy wins this one easy in the 2nd round after pounding nog for the entire first round. thats my prediction
wooooooo old man on old man thats gonna be a good one i think tha natural wants to show wat he gots deep dwn n side