UFC 102 Review of Reviews: Minotauro’s Lair
I’ll cop to it: I’m one of the seven red-blooded American males under the age of 23 who still has no idea what the intricacies of mixed martial arts are. Fortunately for you, I do know how to find the people who do. Here are some of their reactions to last night’s UFC 102, headlined by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s defeat of Randy Couture.↵↵Bloody Elbow: “In a fight that jaded MMA fans slept on, Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira delivered an epic bout that showcased the sport at its absolute best. Two men who had been waiting more than a decade to meet made it worth the wait. No fan could watch that fight and fail to realize that this was a truly epic batch between two true legends of the game. ↵
↵↵Even more excitingly, Nogueira has proven that he merits a fight against Brock Lesnar. A threat to beat the champ both on the feet and on the ground, Nogueira could very well cement his status as the second best heavyweight in the sport by submitting Lesnar.”↵
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↵Cagewriter: "A 46-year old shouldn't be able to go toe-to-toe with a 33-year old in mixed martial arts, but that's exactly what Randy Couture did against Brazilian legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. He simply wasn't big enough to hurt Nogueira on the feet. When the fight went to the ground Nogueira was better technical fighter. He threatened with the most dangerous moment of the fight in the middle of the second round with an arm-triangle choke for 42 seconds."↵
↵↵Cage Potato: ”(Keith) Jardine comes out throwing long, straight punches, then lands a leg kick. More punches from Jardine, then a body kick that (Thiago) Silva catches. Silva takes Jardine down. Jardine with a nice escape and they’re back on their feet. Jardine comes forward with punches, but Silva catches him with a left hook and knocks him to the mat. A couple more punches from the top, and Jardine is out cold. Damn. Where does the Dean go from here?↵
↵↵Sherdog: “Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia are looking at a shot against Anderson Silva. Maia is the Mike Tyson of our area. If Tyson fought in MMA. And didn’t knock people out, but submitted them on the ground. And didn’t go to prison for assault. Most labored, roundabout analogy ever? Probably. Marquardt has been on a tear lately: he’s my vote for 2009’s Most Improved Fighter After Suffering Extended Beating by Silva. At any rate, Marquardt should win this fight. And then he should fight Dan Henderson to really figure out what’s what.↵
↵↵Three months of training for less than 30 seconds: Marquardt freezes Maia with a huge right hand.”↵
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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