Randy "The Natural" Couture and Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira are looking to make another run for the UFC Heavyweight Title, Saturday August 29, from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. If Couture is victorious he will become the oldest fighter in UFC history to win a fight. Two of the light heavyweight division's heaviest hitters collide, when recurring contender Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine takes on Brazilian powerhouse Thiago Silva. Get your UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira Odds, Pick & Prediction in now at Sportsbetting.com
Randy Couture (-175) vs Antonio Nogueira (+145)
Randy Couture has come out of retirement to have another shot at Heavyweight title holder Brock Lesnar. His last fight was at UFC 91 where he fought Lesnar and lost by TKO in the second round. Lesnar proved to be too much for Couture. Couture is 2-3 in his last five fights, but his two losses were to Chuck Liddell. He has notable wins over Couture is generally recognized as a clinch and ground-and-pound fighter who uses his wrestling ability to execute take downs, establish top position, and successively strike the opponent on the bottom. Couture has also displayed a variety of skills in boxing, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submitting two opponents using different chokeholds. Couture is also the only athlete in UFC history to win a championship after becoming a Hall of Fame member and is the oldest title holder ever (in the UFC and MMA in general).
Antonio Nogueira is a technical master of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.His last fight was at UFC 92 where he lost, by TKO, to Frank Mir who then was granted a title fight with Brock Lesnar. His last two wins were over Tim Sylvia, by submission, and Heath Herring, by unanimous decision. Nogueira is the first and only fighter to have held Championship titles in both the Pride Fighting Championship and the UFC. He holds notable wins over Tim Sylvia, Dan Henderson, Sergei Kharitonov, Mark Coleman, Valentijn Overeem, Gary Goodridge, Ricco Rodriguez, Mirko Filipović, Jeremy Horn, Josh Barnett, Heath Herring, Fabricio Werdum, Semmy Schilt and Bob Sapp.
Keith Jardine (-135) vs Thiago Silva (+105)
Keith Jardine is 14-5-1 and 3-2 in his last five fights. At UFC 89 Jardine faced Brandon Vera. Although it appeared that Vera damaged Jardine's knee with a front-kick in the second round, Jardine ultimately earned a split decision victory over Vera. In a post-fight interview, Jardine stated that the injury was minor. With the victory, Jardine earned a shot at Quinton Jackson at UFC 96. In a very close fight, Jardine lost by unanimous decision. Two of the three judges scoring the fight later stated that Jardine would have won if he had not been knocked down in the final seconds of the third round. Jardine is a well rounded fighter who is known for his devastating kicks.
Thiago Silva is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt fighter who is fresh off a loss to fellow Brazilian Lyoto Machida. Thiago lost via KO at the end of the opening round. Before this loss Machida went 13-0 throughout his MMA career. Thiago is known for is great Muay Thai Knees and his vicious ground and pound. In the UFC he is 4-1. He has 10 wins by KO and two by submission. Two of his last wins never made it past the first round. He has notable wins over Antonio Mendes, Houston Alexander and Tomasz Drwal.
Other UFC 102 Bouts and Odds:
Chris Leben (-135) vs Jake Rosholt (+105)
Nate Marquardt (-190) vs Demain Maia (+150)
Ed Herman (-120) vs Aaron Simpson (-110)
Gabriel Gonzaga (-400) vs Chris Tuchscherer (+300)
Brandon Vera (-215) vs Krzysztof Soszynski (+165)
Tim Hague (+145) vs Todd Duffee (-175)
Mike Russow (-250) vs Justin McCully (+195)
Nick Catone (+165) vs Mark Munoz (-210)
UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira
When: Sat, Aug 29, 2009 10:00 PM ET
Line: Sportsbetting.com
Point-Spreads.com UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira Odds, Preview & Prediction
The Bottom Line: Couture should get the win and Jardine to beat Silva. Get your UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira Odds, Preview & Prediction in now at Sportsbetting.com and receive a 10% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit!
