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UFC 102 Champion Thiago Silva took longer signing his contract with Full Combat then it took him to knock out Keith Jardine at UFC 102!

Ultimate Nutrition’s Full Combat is also the New Proud Sponsor of ProMMARadio with Larry Pepe.

UFC 102 “Couture VS Nogueira” may not have been the most stacked card in recent memory, but it was solid and very entertaining.

The main event, which featured legendary fighters Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Randy Couture, delivered as they battled it out for three back and forth rounds.  Nogueira dominated the stand-up and out grappled Couture earning a unanimous decision victory.  “Big Nog” knocked Couture down twice and nearly submitted him, but Couture endured proving why he’s never been submitted in the Octagon.  

With this victory, Nogueira silenced the doubters that he was finished after the Mir fight and warranted himself a title shot in the future.  

Couture still has that fire burning within to compete and has signed a six fight contract to end his career where it started.  Intriguing fights is what he wants so don’t be surprised to see him back in action against the likes of Anderson Silva or Lyoto Machida.

After suffering a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida in January, Thiago Silva was desperate to rebound in exciting fashion.  He did just that as he scored a first round technical knock out against Keith Jardine during the night’s co-main event.  

Silva is now 14-1 and eager to avenge his lone loss to current champion Lyoto Machida.  He might have to wait till next year, but at 26 his future is extremely bright.

Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine has proven in the past that he can beat the likes of Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin on any given night, but his inconsistency from fight to fight has continued to plague his once promising career.  With the loss, Jardine has lost four of his last six fights and is moving closer to the stigma of “gate-keeper” for the light heavyweight division.

Speaking of inconsistent and gate keeping, middleweight fan favorite Chris Leben was in action Saturday night as he was put to sleep by Jake Rosholt.  Leben was slow and sluggish as he could not connect with his big left hand and fell victim to a third round arm-triangle.  

Rosholt bounced back after a disappointing UFC debut against Dan Miller and at 27 he will only get better.  As he continues to improve his already strong wrestling base by fine tuning his standup, Rosholt could be a contender in a few years, but only time will tell.

A middleweight fight that many considered main event quality, ended in quick and devastating fashion as Nate “The Great” Marquardt knocked out BJJ wizard Demian Maia in just 21 seconds.  

Many thought if Maia was able to get to the ground the fight would be over, he was able to get to the ground, but too bad for him; he was unconscious.  Marquardt continued his assault on the middleweight division with his third straight stoppage and has inched closer to a rematch with Anderson Silva.

A title shot was not promised to the winner of this bout as Dan Henderson looms in the background.  As Anderson Silva continues fighting outside his division, a possible fight between Marquardt and Henderson would clear up the confusion of the number one contender.  

Brandon “The Truth” Vera looks to be more comfortable within the light heavyweight division as he earned a unanimous decision over Krzysztof Soszynski.  Vera landed a huge kick to the body early in the fight that seemed to take the wind out of Soszynski.  He was unable to get any offense going and was gassing towards the end of the fight.  

Vera looked good in this fight, but not great.  He lacks the killer instinct that he had early on in his career.  He’ll need to pull the trigger in future fights as he will get stiffer competition in the future.  

The original “Phenom” will be in action in a few weeks as Vitor Belfort returns to the UFC, but we may have witnessed the birth of a new “Phenom” as Todd Duffee only needed 7 seconds to stake a claim for himself within the heavyweight division.  

Duffee stiffened Tim Hague with a jab and followed it up with a huge hook while Hague was on the ground, earning his first UFC victory and fastest KO record.  He’s big, strong and mean just like Brock!

Headliners Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Randy Couture earned "Fight of the Night" honors, Nate Marquardt earned a "Knockout of the Night" bonus check, and Jake Rosholt was awarded the "Submission of the Night" at Saturday’s UFC 102 event.  All received 60K for their efforts.

Fights were awesome tonight.  A few big KO’s, a legendary match between two hall of famers and some solid submissions.  Here is the quick results with a full review later.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
•Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Randy Couture via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
•Thiago Silva def. Keith Jardine via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 1:35
•Jake Rosholt def. Chris Leben via technical submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 3, 1:30
•Nate Marquardt def. Demian Maia via knockout (punch) - Round 1, 0:21
•Brandon Vera def. Krzysztof Soszynski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
•Aaron Simpson def. Ed Herman via TKO (injury) - Round 2, 0:17
•Gabriel Gonzaga def. Chris Tuchscherer via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 4:27
•Mike Russow def. Justin McCully via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
•Todd Duffee def. Tim Hague via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 0:07
•Mark Munoz def. Nick Catone via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
•Evan Dunham def. Marcus Aurelio via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Here are the Randy Couture vlogs:

Legends will collide this Saturday night in Portland, Oregon as Randy “The Natural” Couture faces off with Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira.  

The Rose Garden will be hosting The Ultimate Fighting Championship for the very first time and the card is full of entertaining fights.  The co-main event will feature light heavyweight contenders Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine and Thiago Silva as they look to rebound off their latest defeats.

Well it’s better late than never when it comes to the main event between Couture and Nogueira.  A fight that almost happened back in 2000 at the Rings King of Kings final will finally take place tomorrow night.  

After losing his UFC heavyweight championship to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91, Randy Couture is set to make one more run at the belt.  His trek will not be an easy one as he faces the most resilient fighter in MMA history in “Minotauro” Nogueira.

Having never been finished in his previous 37 fights, Nogueira’s streak ended at UFC 92 when he suffered a TKO at the hands of Frank Mir; losing the UFC interim heavyweight championship.  

These former champions both have the bad taste of defeat still in their mouths and a victory Saturday will give them another shot at championship glory.

The strengths are well known for both fighters.  Randy is a “natural” when it comes to wrestling and his dirty boxing is punishing.  Nogueira is undoubtedly the world’s top heavyweight submission specialist and his boxing is sound technically.  

The weaknesses are just as obvious, as the clock may be ticking on both of their legendary careers.  

At first glance, one would think that Nogueira is the elder of the two warriors, but at 33 he’s 13 years younger than the 46 year old Couture.  Nogueira has gained the reputation as the ultimate come from behind fighter as he’s pulled out victories on the brink of defeat on more than one occasion.  This will be the 39th professional fight for Nogueira and many of those fights were all out wars.  After so many battles, does Nogueira have enough in the tank for another title run?
  
Randy Couture faced similar adversity back in 2006 after being knocked out by Chuck Liddell.  After a brief retirement, he was able to comeback after a year off and destroyed Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight crown.  

This fight is hard to predict due to the past performances of Nogueira.  In my opinion, Nogueira hasn’t looked like the dominant fighter that ruled Japan since his arrival to the UFC in 2007.  Heath Herring nearly kicked his head off; Tim Sylvia was schooling him in the standup till he got choked out and Frank Mir finished him for the first time in his career, although he was also fighting staph infection.

Are we going to see Nogueira at 100 percent or has he taken too much punishment?

With that being said; as much as I would love to see Nogueira pull out another submission victory, I’ll have to give the nod to Randy.  He’ll control the fight standing and on the ground and will win via decision.  

Fireworks are sure to happen during the Thiago Silva and Keith Jardine bout.  Both are coming off a loss in their last fights and are desperate to get back in the mix for a light heavyweight title shot.

Silva will have to keep the pressure on Jardine in this one and stay away from his devastating leg kicks.  Jardine is the more technically sound fighter of the two, as the ultra aggressive Silva loves to brawl.  Don’t look for this fight to go to the ground unless somebody is getting knocked out.  

Can Thiago Silva rebound from his first defeat or will Keith Jardine continue his humble ascent up the light heavyweight ranks?  

I have to go with my boy “The Dean of Mean” he nearly beat “Rampage” and Silva’s chin is suspect.  Jardine wins by second round TKO.

The most anticipated fight for me will be the middleweight bout between Nate “The Great” Marquardt and Demian Maia.  

Maia is undefeated and hands down the greatest BJJ grappler breathing.  He is a wizard on the ground and his standup continues to improve as he spars with Wanderlei Silva daily.  It’s no secret that he wants to take Marquardt to the ground, but will Nate be too strong for the Brazilian Maia?

Marquardt is a seven time King of Pancrase with tons of experience.  He holds the edge striking wise and his one of the strongest fighters in the division.  He’s hell bound on getting another crack at Anderson Silva, but he needs to defeat Maia first.  

A title shot in the near future is on the line and I see this fight going to the ground at least once meaning Maia will find a way to submit Marquardt.  

Portland native Chris Leben will be entertaining his hometown fans but he’ll have his hands full with NCAA wrestling champion Jake Rosholt.

Leben hasn’t fought since October where he lost to Michael Bisping.  Leben was popper for steroids and suspended.  The heavy handed southpaw has had trouble in the past dealing with strong wrestlers.  If he can keep the fight standing he should be able please his hometown fans with another exciting knockout.

Light heavyweights Brandon Vera and Krzytof Soszynski will be battling it out to crack the top ten in the division in the night’s first televised bout.  

They are both coming off victories and hungry for more.  Vera has more experience and is the more technically of the two.  Where Soszynski lacks technically he makes up for in his size and strength.  His punches are powerful but slow and he’ll need to defend the strong leg kicks from Vera.  

Vera has the experience and his standup is a tad superior to Soszynski’s.  Vera should be able to squeak out a decision.  

UFC 102 – Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.

MAIN CARD
• Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
• Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
• Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
• Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt
• Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brandon Vera
PRELIMINARY CARD
• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer
• Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow
• Todd Duffee vs. Tim Hague
• Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
• Marcus Aurelio vs. Evan Dunham
• Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson

Randy Couture is getting in the cage one more time to face off against Nogueira!

UFC 102
Aug-29-2009
Portland Oregon

UFC 102 Fight Card:

Randy Couture Vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Keith Jardine Vs. Thiago Silva
Chris Leben Vs. Jake Rosholt
Nate Marquardt Vs. Demian Maia
Matt Hamill Vs. Brandon Vera
Wilson Gouveia Vs. James Irvin
Junior Dos Santos Vs. Justin McCully
Nick Catone Vs. Mark Munoz
Matt Veach Vs. Evan Dunham

Keith Jardine and Thiago Silva agree to meet at UFC 102 in August
By: John Morgan, MMAjunkie.com

When one door closes, another opens.

Brazilian slugger Thiago Silva (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) woke up this morning believing he would be facing Forrest Griffin on Aug. 8 at UFC 101. He’ll go to sleep preparing to face Keith Jardine (14-5-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) at UFC 102.

Sources close to the organization have informed MMAjunkie.com that "The Dean of Mean" and Siva have verbally agreed to meet at the Aug. 29 event.

Bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

MMAjunkie.com originally learned of the planned Thiago Silva vs. Griffin matchup in March, but those plans were scrapped today in favor of the former light heavyweight champ and "The Ultimate Fighter" winner facing off with current UFC middleweight title holder Anderson Silva in a 205-pound contest.

The Anderson Silva vs. Griffin fight will serve as UFC 101’s co-main event.

Thiago Silva will instead fight three weeks later, as the American Top Team fighter looks to rebound from his first career defeat. After reeling off four-straight wins to start his run in the UFC – and 13-straight victories overall – Silva was knocked out in a January bout with current No. 1 contender Lyoto Machida.

Jardine also looks to rebound from a recent loss. Also familiar with UFC card-shuffling, Jardine had been expected to face Luiz Cane at UFC 97, but a series of events led the Greg Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts fighter instead to a main event showdown with former light-heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 96 in March.

Jardine dropped a close unanimous decision to Jackson that many observers felt was decided in the final seconds of the 15-minute affair. While Jardine has gone just 2-3 in his past five fights, the always-dangerous, awkwardly styled fighter holds wins over Brandon Vera, Chuck Liddell, Griffin and Wilson Gouveia, among others.

While not officially announced, UFC 102 is expected to be headlined by a heavyweight bout between MMA legends Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on Aug. 29 in Portland, Ore.