UFC 102 was hyped as a heavyweight battle between the aging former UFC Champion Randy 'The Nautral' Coture and Brazilian legend Antonio Rodrigo Nougeira. By the end of the night, they surely didn't disappoint.
The Rose Garden in Portland was given an excellent encore as Coture went toe to toe with Nougeira but in the end the aging Coture lost a unanimous decision. The fight was a slugfest for the biggest part and in the post fight interview Coture's battered face showed it. Whenever the fight went to the ground, Nougeria was the better fighter and in the second round looked to end the fight when he had Coture in an arm triangle choke for nearly 45 seconds. Other than that, it was a straight up brawl.
Coture took the fight in stride and seems to be still interested in fighting. With the win, Nougeria has set himself up with a possible shot at Brock Lesnar's heavyweight championship.
The UFC 102 undercard will always be remembered for its storied knockouts. Thiago Silva knocked out Keith Jardine in the first round, former NCAA champion Jake Rosholt choked out Chris 'The Crippler' Leben, Nate Marquardt knocked out Demian Maia 21 seconds into the first round, Brandon Vera scored a unanimous decision over 'The Polish Expieriment' Kryzstof Soszynski, Aaron Simpson TKO'd Ed Herman, Gabriel Gonzaga TKO'd Chris Tuchscherer in the first round, Mike Russow won by decision over Justin McCulty, Todd Duffee knocked out Tim Hague seven seconds into the first round, and Nick Catone and Evan Durham won by decision.
