Nog Is Back; Couture Far From Finished

Heavyweight veteran Antonion Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogeuira ("Big Nog" as he's known) is clearly not the same guy who got knocked out by Frank Mir. The ground skills, iron chin, fast hands and great conditioning that made him famous carried him to a clear decision victory over 46 year-old ironman Randy "The Natural" Couture. Nog may be next in line after Lesnar vs. Carwin is over. Couture, surprisingly, looked very impressive in defeat. He still has that same great clinch game that gives people fits, great dirty boxing, and great heart. What impressed me the most was watching the aging hall-of-famer get dropped from Big Nog's quicker punches, and just immediately recover. Couture bounced back from two potential fight-ending knockdowns delivered by Nogeuira. He also escaped two serious choke attempts from perhaps the best heavyweight submission fighter in the world. Unbelievable. I wouldn't be surprised to see Couture in the Octagon pushing the half-century mark. He continues to defy expectations.

I don't know how much anyone learned watching jiu-jitsu ace Damien Maia get knocked out flying by Nate "The Great" Marquardt. I'm not surprised to see Marquardt win a fight decisively, but I am surprised Maia left himself wide open like that. Ironic, because I've always liked Maia for his belief that you can end a fight without hurting someone. I he recovers and earns another "Submission of the Night."

Chris Leben was outworked by Jake Rosholt. Superior functional wrestling, superior speed and superior conditioning seemed to be the difference-maker in his submission win over "The Crippler," who was left convulsing on the canvas after trying to tap and losing concsciousness in the vise grip of Rosholt's arm choke.

The UFC's already-exciting heavyweight division benefits from the addition of Todd Duffee, who knocked out Tim Hague in a record seven (7) seconds with a stiff jab. From what I can tell, Duffee is cast from the same huge-Terminator-fast-strong mold as Brock Lesnar. This is the new breed of heavyweight: bigger, leaner and much more athletic. Traditional heavyweights - of whom many look like out-of-shape light heavies or middleweights - cannot keep up with someone their size with a significant power-to-weight ratio advantage. Duffee, with three or four more wins, is smack in the mix for contention.

Last but not least, Brandon Vera is back and looking great at 205. Krystof Soscynzki, "The Polish Experiment," looked good but not good enough to beat a fluid, technical Vera. He was simply outclassed by a more accomplished fighter in Vera, who showed excellent patience, great striking technique, and great takedown defense, easily shrugging off numerous takedown attempts. Dropping from heavyweight, Vera also looked physically strong with a large frame and long reach. He will be a bigger light-heavyweight, which is where "The Truth" Brandon Vera belongs, and with his clean, disciplined, aggressive style, we may have something that presents potential problems for current champion Lyoto Machida.