Randy Couture versus Gabriel Gonazga

Vince135792003

UFC 74 is this weekend so I thought I'd stick a thread up. I posted some good videos to hype up the fight in the video thread which can be linked from here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054945696&page=13

It's hard for me to pick a winner. Personally, like most people I'd love Randy to win. On the one hand, the longer it goes, the more it favors Couture and I would definitely give Couture the mental edge in terms of going the distance, strategy and just generally dealing with the hype that surrounds fights like these.

On the other hand, Randy hasn't faired so well with with guys who would have a fairly similar style to Gonzaga in the passed from what I've read.

I'll go with Randy though. Who are you picking? Thoughts on other fights would be cool too.

The Sparrow

Ah you beat me to it, I was gonna start a thread about UFC 74 tomorrow!

I just don`t think I can bet against Randy... And as much as ppl say how good Gonzaga is he has never been in a fight like this. Really there was very little pressure on him against Cro Cop but this is a whole different ball game. So nobody can be sure how he will react. I just think that Randy will come up with another brilliant gameplan and get the victory. I can see it going to decision though.

I also have a bit of a fancy for Josh Koscheck over St. Pierre. Koschecks the superior wrestler and I can see it ending up a bit like a Sean Sherk match with Koscheck on top for large periods of the fight and eeking out a decision. Of course GSP could end it at anytime but for some reason I don`t see it.

As for the other fights my predictions are:

Rover Heurto def Alberto Crane
Joe Stevenson def Kurt Pellegrino
Nick Cote def Kendall Grove

Oh and Frank Mir is fighting which should be interesting... prob won`t make the show though as I expect GSP V Koscheck and Randy v Gonzaga to go long.

Hugh Mongus

For me, GSP v Koschek is the match of the night. Koscheck suprised me against Sanchez - he obviously has spent alot of time bringing his striking up a notch to go with his amazing wrestling ability. However, if GSP loses this one - it'll be a long time before he gets a title shot. I'll go for Koscheck in a split decision.

Randy will just do enough to beat Gonzaga - the natural always gets the job done.:D

Vince135792003

Hugh Mongus wrote:

Randy will just do enough to beat Gonzaga - the natural always gets the job done.:D

Well he doesn't always but I know what you mean!

I heard that on last weeks UFC conference call for the ppv that Gonzaga was alarmed when he was told he was favourite for the fight as if it was the death blow to his chances!

dlofnep

Gonzaga will win. It will be a repeat of Couture/Rodriguez. Couture controls clinch for the first 2 rounds then Gonzaga's youth and weight will take him through it. I'd like to see Randy win, but the odds are stacked against him.

Vince135792003

Small bit more from the observer news update yesterday: For those asking about Randy's picks in Sunday's fight. Randy picks Randy. He thinks the five rounds works to his advantage, and that Gabriel Gonzaga may not be sued to the pressure. He expects a long fight, and by the fourth round, he should have the edge and possibly be able to finish Gonzaga, but it could go the distance. "He's a tough cat. I don't think he's gonna go away easy." You can read more at www.buddytv.com


Someone else is showing up at UFC 74 too, from mmaweekly:

A former NCAA heavyweight wrestling national champion and pro wrestling superstar, Brock Lesnar made his mixed martial arts debut in impressive fashion on June 2nd against Min Soo Kim. That fight was fulfillment of a one-fight deal with K-1.

Now, the 30-year-old Lesnar wants to compete in the UFC.

With his collegiate wrestling accomplishments and pro wrestling popularity, Brock Lesnar is one of the highest profile free agents in MMA. Sporting an MMA record of 1-0, what Lesnar lacks in MMA experience, he more than makes up for in potential pay-per-view buys.

Contacted by several promotions, Lesnar is tired of the run-a-round and is ready to ink a deal.

"We're playing the games, but I'm tired of playing games,” stated Lesnar. “It's time for somebody to make a move. I'm going to go down to the UFC and see what the hell is going on down there."

Asked if he has talked to UFC President Dana White about his interest in competing in the Octagon, Lesnar answered, "We've spoken. I cannot deny or confirm anything. I'm just telling you this, I'm going to be there Saturday night and I'm looking for a win. I don't care who it is. If I had to fight somebody, I'd like to fight Randy [Couture]. I'll fight [Gabriel] Gonzaga. We'll see what happens."

He added, "I hope Randy wins that fight. I hope Randy wins that fight and then I can fight him in December."

"I'm going to be attending the UFC this weekend, and I'm going to go down and watch and see in person, because I've watched these guys fight on TV. I'm going to go down there and see for myself and watch these heavyweights that I know I can beat," Lesnar told MMAWeekly.

"I'm looking to fight somebody with credentials. I'm not just talking Silver Medals in Judo. I want a belt. I've fought a lot of tomato cans. I've already had it. You know? I want a fillet Mignon. Let's do it, and do it right. I want to fight somebody, somebody that's got credentials because I've got them too. There isn't a wrestler, there isn't a heavyweight out there my size that has done the things I've done."

Questioned if the UFC is where he'd like to eventually compete, Lesnar responded, "The UFC, they're the big dogs on the street, obviously. You've got Randy Couture, who he's definitely going to be past his prime here. You've got Fedor [Emelianenko]. There's nobody out there that is unbeatable. Okay? All the media builds Fedor into this great monster. Well, every monster has his day.

“There isn't a guy like me walking around that can do the things that I do. These guys, they don't know. Let's put it this way, in college, or everywhere that I've gone, everybody has said that I'm one strong son-of-a-bitch, and that's what I am, and I'm able to back it up."

Lesnar has a wrestling resume that rivals or surpasses most everyone competing in MMA. We've seen accomplished collegiate wrestlers like Randy Couture, Matt Lindland, Josh Koscheck, and others succeed in MMA.

Does Lesnar believe he has the ability to have the same success?

"Absolutely, no doubt in my mine. I mean, you take Randy Couture for example, I mean he's the heavyweight champion of the UFC, but he's a small heavyweight. Let's face it, Tim Sylvia was not a legitimate heavyweight champion," responded Lesnar.

"I enjoyed watching Randy beat the sh*t out of Tim Sylvia. I enjoyed that. I mean take a look at this guy, Tim Sylvia, the guy’s feet; they're damn near webbed. He looks like the Swamp Thing. The guy is a vulture. He can't wrestle worth a crap. He's got a jab and a little right hand. There's no way. I'd double-leg his a** right through that cage so fast, and that would be the end of the fight. I'm tired. I'm tired of this. Brock Lesnar wants to fight somebody, somebody with credentials, and Tim Sylvia ain't the guy."

"I'm a fighter, and I believe that if somebody should be holding a belt in the UFC, it's Brock Lesnar."

The UFC has negotiated with Kurt Angle to fight in the Octagon; it would only make sense for them to jump on the opportunity to sign Lesnar.

The Sparrow

Geez Brock in full work mode! It almost sounds like he was being interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund or something it was that much of a wrestling promo...

Now way in hell can I see him getting a title shot in December if he signs for UFC!

Fozzy

Brock knows how to make money! No, I wouldn't see him gettin a title shot, I'm sure that would piss off some of the heavyweights a little too much. But he would get a pretty high-profile fight. It makes perfect business sense

As for Randy vs Gonzaga...I'm sticking with Couture to win. Haha, just looking at the pick I made about a month ago on mmaplayground.com, I said Randy to win by tapout in the 3rd round. I think it'll go longer than that. A round 5 submission!

Koscheck to win, I want to see him cut another heel promo

Stevenson, Grove, Babalu, Guida, Huerta, Mir and Leites to win too. I'm looking forward to seeing Huerta and Guida's fights, they've had great fights this year

Vince135792003

Fozzy wrote:

Koscheck to win, I want to see him cut another heel promo

You can get good odds at least on the betting sites I've seen on a Koscheck win. Paddy Powers will be up later this week.

The Sparrow

Fozzy wrote:

Brock knows how to make money! No, I wouldn't see him gettin a title shot, I'm sure that would piss off some of the heavyweights a little too much. But he would get a pretty high-profile fight. It makes perfect business sense

Oh yeah, definitely! I didn`t mean to insinuate anything else, he could definitely make lots of money for UFC. I could see him fighting the loser of the Brandon Vera v Tim Sylvia fight if he signs for UFC.

Fozzy

woooo232 wrote:

I could see him fighting the loser of the Brandon Vera v Tim Sylvia fight if he signs for UFC.

I'd actually see him fighting the winner. If he were to lose to the loser, it would make him look much worse than if he lost to the winner. Even if he hasn't proved himself as a fighter, he's still a bigger draw than any of the heavyweights except Randy and I don't think the UFC would want to risk that drawing power by putting him against someone who's not considered one of the top guys

The Sparrow

Yeah i guess that maks sense Fozzy... but I just cant see them putting him in with a top guy just yet.

fatal

Vince135792003 wrote:

You can get good odds at least on the betting sites I've seen on a Koscheck win. Paddy Powers will be up later this week.

Under what category do the UFC bets go up on the paddy power site?

By the way I want couture to win.However I think that gonzaga will be a real handful.I wont be surprised at all if Gonzaga does end up winning via a k.o. Having said that,Gonzaga is also good on the ground and although randy will be working for the take down,he may be a little cautious.Should be a good fight if its the same Randy who only months ago came out of retirement to win the title in the manner that he did win it.

Bubs101

Based on my old school my money's on Zaga.

Vince135792003

fatal wrote:

Under what category do the UFC bets go up on the paddy power site?

The odds will be up by the weekend and theres usually a "UFC" link on the main page. I'll post the odds here once there up.

albundy

Heres my predictions:

Main Card Bouts:
-Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
-Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck
-Joe Stevenson vs. Kurt Pellegrino
-Kendall Grove vs. Patrick Cote
-Roger Huerta vs. Alberto Gonzales Crane

Preliminary Bouts:
-Marcus Aurelio vs. Clay Guida
-Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. David Heath
-Antoni Hardonk vs. Frank Mir
-Thales Leites vs. Ryan Jensen

As much as i dont want it to happen, i think Gonzaga will beat Couture. I think he will finish him within 3 rounds. The longer the fight goes the better it will be for Couture but Gonzaga is better equipped to finish him than anyone at the minute.
I think GSP and Kos will be close with GSP just shading a decision.

Should be a great show, looking forward to it

Vince135792003

UFC74 notes from the observer site:

--I don't know if Brock Lesnar has signed with UFC or not, but he's in Las Vegas for Saturday's fight and what he's doing is an angle and he and Dana White are on the same page. He's playing outsider heel, and apparently pretty well since some MMA folks who rip on wrestling fans for being stupid, are buying it. Randy Couture, who has his hands full right now, talked at the press conference yesterday saying he'd love the chance to fight Lesnar.

--For public consumption, White said yesterday: "I'm very interested in Brock Lesnar. I tried to talk to (his reps) a couple of years ago. They were on a different planet at the time. After fighting in the s*** show he fought in last time, maybe they're back down here on Earth where we can talk." He also got a dig in on Tito Ortiz, when pushing Patrick Cote, who faces Kendall Grove, White noted Cote went the distance with Ortiz in 2004. "He went the distance with Tito Ortiz when it meant something to go the distance with Tito Ortiz."

--Alex Marvez saw a preview of Ultimate Fighter 6 and said if the preview is any indication, it's a must-see show.

--Some Dana White notes from today. He confirmed that if Sean Sherk's appeal isn't successful that he'd be stripped of his lightweight title. He also said the Josh Koscheck vs. Georges St. Pierre winner would get the next welterweight title shot after the Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra match.

Fozzy

If Randy loses will that be him retired? Or does he still have another fight left on his contract?

Fozzy

Vince135792003 wrote:

I don't know if Brock Lesnar has signed with UFC or not, but he's in Las Vegas for Saturday's fight and what he's doing is an angle and he and Dana White are on the same page. He's playing outsider heel, and apparently pretty well since some MMA folks who rip on wrestling fans for being stupid, are buying it.

I was just thinking last night about how big they could build up Couture vs Lesnar. Couture is the all-American hero, Captain America, he's a pure athlete with a pure heart who constantly defies the odds and in comes the brash, arrogant young upstart disrespecting him. It's the perfect angle! Plus Brock would be a huge heel to all the big MMA fans who don't think much of pro-wrestling

I change my prediction for Couture vs Gonzaga, it'll be Randy winning by DQ after Brock interferes and F-5's him

Seriously though, that sort of angle would draw huge if they could get everyone to hate Brock. You'd have everyone even more behind Couture than they were when he fought Sylvia. They'll probably only fight if Randy loses though, hope he doesn't retire just yet so

johnny_adidas

first off i hope GSP destroys Koscheck

as for couture vs gonzaga, honestly think it could go either way. ive given up trying to predict fights after the last few UFCs

Vince135792003

Fozzy wrote:

If Randy loses will that be him retired? Or does he still have another fight left on his contract?

From what I remember, he signed a 4 fight deal spread over 2 years last January. In saying that, I'd say he's taking things on a fight by fight basis.

IF and its a big if they put Couture/Lesnar together, it would do huge business with die hard MMA fans, casual and then wrestling fans all taking an interest.

Lesnar has the personality and backround (professional wrestling) to be the next most hated guy in MMA which is exactly what UFC needs with Ortiz arguably on the downward side of his career.

Vince135792003

UFC betting odds from http://www.paddypower.com/bet?action=go_type&category=SPORTS&disp_cat_id=&ev_class_id=172&ev_type_id=8444&ev_oc_grp_ids=48540&bir_index= :


Clay Guida 8 - 11 Marcus Aurelio evens

Kendall Grove 2 - 5 Patrick Cote 7 - 4

Joe Stevenson 2 - 7 Kurt Pellegrino 12 - 5

Frank Mir 8 - 15 Antoni Hardonk 11 - 8

Gabriel Gonzaga 8 - 11 Randy Couture evens

Georges St Pierre 4 - 11 Josh Koscheck 15 - 8

Fozzy

And also Babalu 2-5, David Heath 7-4

I think MMA is a little dodgy to be betting on, Koscheck is the only one worth a wager there really. And Heath maybe

Bubs101

There's not enough interest in the European Market to make the odds competitive. Surely some American Bookie has better odds

Fozzy

They're basically the exact same if you can figure out their system of odds: http://www.gamblerspalace.com/Lines.asp?IdLeague=253&IdSport=MU. Very little variation

EDIT: Bodog.com are giving slightly better odds for some underdogs

Bubs101

I'd consider myself seasoned with bookmakers but that's all greek to me

Fozzy

I know, it's very confusing. If someone is +200, that means that if you put €100 on him and he wins, you'll get €200 profit back. But if someone is -200, you'd have to put €200 on him to win €100 profit back. Decimal odds are the way to go!

I suppose it's easy enough for picking out the favourites, they all have minuses. Huerta is a huge favourite because he's got a big minus

Vince135792003

Notes from the way in from Dave Meltzer:

Dana White confirmed today he has a meeting tomorrow with Brock Lesnar, who he is negotiating with to bring to UFC. If Lesnar appears on the PPV show, that would be a sign he's on board. Wanderlei Silva will be in Las Vegas doing interviews before the show, and it's all but confirmed his debut would be 12/29 in Las Vegas.

The show is already sold out, as is SummerSlam on Sunday.


No real incidents at the UFC weigh-ins. Thales Leitis came in at 188 pounds and needed to get to 186 within two hours, a time period that should have just ended. Nobody seemed concerned he wouldn't make it.

Randy Couture and Georges St. Pierre are clearly the two big stars on the show. They got the reactions expected by the crowd estimated at 3,200 at the weigh-ins at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The crowd had no real feeling toward Gabriel Gonzaga. They didn't dislike him, and he only got some boos, but it's clear the battle to the crowd is cheering Randy on against the realities of age and time and Gonzaga only represents father time in the fans' eyes. By no means is Gonzaga a star to the hardcore audience.

Josh Koscheck, if anything, was booed heavier than expected. If this crowd is any indication, and in this case I'm pretty sure it will be, this is going to be a complete 80s pro wrestling main event type of crowd reaction against St.Pierre, except no "USA" chants here. Koscheck accepted and seemed to even like the boos, because it's a lot better they hate you than they don't care about you. Although the TV special last night built up a grudge match between the two, they were smiling as they posed off, and both realize if they aren't on their A game, they'll be in trouble. Most feel the betting odds are way too long against Koscheck, although I'd say St. Pierre deserves to be the favorite.

Kendall Grove and Clay Guida also got big reactions in a positive way, while Renato Sobral was booed a sizeable amount. Sobral and Dave Heath had a staredown, with Sobral clearly trying to be intimidating and as they left they were shouting words at each other.

Official weights and match order

Marcus Aurelio (155) vs. Clay Guida (155)
Thales Leitis (188) vs. Ryan Jensen (185)
Frank Mir (255) vs. Antoni Hardonk (244)
Renato Sobral (204) vs. David Heath (205)

Live PPV bouts
Roger Huerta (155) vs. Alberto Crane (155)
Kendall Grove (184) vs. Patrick Cote (184 1/2)
Joe Stevenson (155) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (155)
Georges St. Pierre (170) vs. Josh Koscheck (170)
Randy Couture (228 1/2) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (252) for the heavyweight title

fatal

kendall grove is starting to piss me off the way he tries to copy tito....well in everything except for losing.

nacho libre

That was awesome:D

Vince135792003

nacho libre wrote:

That was awesome:D

Yes it was. I think its gonna get better too. My prediction now is that their ppv in December will be the WWE equivalent of Wrestlemania 17.

evad_lhorg

just saw this. was deadly. very suprised Couture beat him. little bit of luck with the nose break but he still domintated him. took some hard hitsd too.

Vince135792003

evad_lhorg wrote:

just saw this. was deadly. very suprised Couture beat him. little bit of luck with the nose break but he still domintated him. took some hard hitsd too.

Should we be very surprised at this stage?! I learned my lesson after the Silvia fight not to be surprised with anything Couture does and I probably should have learned it earlier than that. The guy is just special.

ShawnRaven

evad_lhorg wrote:

just saw this. was deadly. very suprised Couture beat him. little bit of luck with the nose break but he still domintated him. took some hard hitsd too.

Why so surprised? People make Couture sound like he's past it after a 9-10 month retirement. He still has it, he's still dangerous as ever and he made Gonzaga look like a pussy (c'mon Gabriel, you can't ask to stop the match to clear your eyes, you either can or can't fight), especially when he tried to cling on to the cage during the takedown.

The Natural chalks up another one
VR!

Fozzy

dlofnep wrote:

Gonzaga will win.

When will the Randy doubters ever learn?! Couture is just amazing, he's certainly not the best fighter ever but he tries harder than anyone. I wasn't surprised to see it but it was so great watching it. Randy took one very hard kick to the head and it didn't faze him, he just went straight back to clinch. I don't know if Gonzaga was just completely distracted by his nose, but everytime Randy let go of the double-underhooks to go for his head, Gonzaga just let him get his underhooks back no problem. Some slam too. Bring on Lesnar!

Huerta had a really exciting fight as usual, he nearly got caught a few times but he's just too good. He should get a title shot as soon as that belt is sorted out

There was some amount of blood on the canvas from one of the undercard fights, I'd say that was messy looking

EDIT: Ah, I just read that the blood was from Babalu vs Heath, Babalu won by choking out Heath and not letting go until he had passed out. That's not on. He had half his purse withheld. And Joe Stevenson broke his jaw apparently

The Sparrow

Randy is the man!! I just don`t know how he does it; amazing genetics and one hell of a fighters heart. Obv he got the lucky break with Gonzaga breaking his nose, but I still think he woould have won. He was dominating through the clinch and while Gonzaga hurt him a couple of times he also rocked Gonzaga in the first round.

ANd I think we should always be surprised when Randy wins at his age. Otherwise you downplay the significance of it. Obv its hard to know the real person when all you do is see them on tv, but Couture seems like a genuine nice guy and he is an inspiration to everyone.
Altogether I thought the show was decent but nothing off the charts. No bad fights but no amazing ones either really. Huerta and GSP looked best besides Randy. I can`t believe UFC 75 is only two weeks ago... I hope they don`t burn it out!

Fozzy

woooo232 wrote:

I can`t believe UFC 75 is only two weeks ago... I hope they don`t burn it out!

76 is two weeks after that again. I don't think they can burn it out just yet with all the big fights they've got lined up and the next series of the Ultimate Fighter

The Sparrow

Fozzy wrote:

76 is two weeks after that again. I don't think they can burn it out just yet with all the big fights they've got lined up and the next series of the Ultimate Fighter

are you serious? jebus I see yo are, UFC 76 September 22nd!And an Ultimate Fight Night on Sept 19th!:eek: :eek:

Well they are doing their best to burn it out... I know there a lot of great fights but its so easy to burn something out and much harder to come back from there.

Vince135792003

Fozzy wrote:

Bring on Lesnar!

Or Fedor. He's meeting with UFC again next week. There are alot of shows next month but the way they have designed it they should do fine with the show being from London free and the Lidell fight on ppv.

I really enjoyed the show overall. Nothing amazing but everything pretty interesting. Great to see St. Pierre come back the way he did and you could almost say he was the star of the show with all of the Canadian fans that seemed to be there. His title shot needs to be in Canada.

I'd have no problem watching Joe Stevenson (the German suplex machine!) fighting Huerta either who looked much better on Saturday than he did in his last fight.

gimmick

This is the first time I watched a UFC event from start to finish, and really enjoyed it. Coutoure totally dominated Gonzaga. i was actually surprised it took him so long to finish him off.

Huerta impressed the hell out of me, as did GSP. I am in London on Saturday week and am trying to convince the buddy to go to UFC 75. Cheap tickets still available for £25.

Vince135792003

Observer update:

--Brock Lesnar was not signed yet by Dana White for UFC. We spoke about the situation with him and White is expecting a deal and didn't indicate any roadblocks. Lesnar wasn't put on the show because he hadn't signed his contract. He was in the building and did have a brief exchange with Randy Couture after the match in the aisle--nothing negative, only congratulating him, and I don't know if cameras were there. White is also back on the trail of Fedor Emelianenko, as he has a meeting with Emelianenko's management on Thursday. He wasn't as confident about his chances here because of their demands, but would love to put together Couture vs. Fedor early next year.

Dragan

It was a very solid event from start to finish.

Grove got put away by Cote, which is by and large what i wanted to happen. Kendall has lots of potential, but needs to stop modelling himself on the Tito Hype Machine software. Sitting in pre fight interviews saying you would "elbow the **** out of some ones face" and then getting caught cold and pounded out makes you look amateur.

Joe Daddy had a great fight, some remarkable work from both men on the ground, some of the nicest transitions i have seen in a while from both men. Awesome stuff.

Huerta proved the naysayers wrong.....again. He fought an excellent fight against someone who is a demon on the ground....but once again the difference between going for subs in a BJJ contest and going for subs with someone punching you in the face proved too much and Crane just wasn't up to the task. Huerta's conditioning was unreal. Each time he stood up he looked absolutely fresh. Crane has a solid base to exist and do well with the 155'ers though....some more experience and he could do well. He's pretty slight though so might be better off dropping to 145 in the WEC.

GSP seems to be back to his old self, he reigned in his hands a little bit but that just made sense against Kos who could easily rack up enough take downs in a fight to win a decision. The simple fact is GSP gave him few openings, defended well when he needed to and took Kos down plenty of times. I assume he is on his way to a title fight VS the winner of Serra/Hughes as the only other two would really be Karo and Fitch and i would rather see them fight each other with the winner getting a shot on the winner of Hughes/Serra Vs GSP. I know Diego is in the mix as well but the lost to Kos will have hurt him in the title race.

Randy looked awesome as always. I don't like the whole Bandwagon jumping that is going on with Gonzaga though. One minute Randy will never beat him, the next minute Randy is exposing him. Come on! The guy has lots of talent and lots of time.

fatal

I enjoyed it.It was a good event.
Well done again randy.I was shocked to see randy dominating gonzaga in that manner.Randy took some big shots aswell as a bit kick in that fight and he still kept fighting.I thought that it was over when gonzaga told herb dean that he had blood in his eyes.
Joe stevenson looked impressive as did Huerta.Id love to see these two against each other soon.
GSP had an impressive comeback.He dominated both standing and wrestling.Also it was good to see Cote winning and not having to watch Kendall grove do a really bad impression of what tito does at the end.

Vince135792003

Couture seems to get better with age
Dave Meltzer
FOXSports.com, Updated 10 hours ago


Some day age will catch up with Randy Couture.

Saturday was not that day.

The 44-year-old Couture fought in many ways the most spectacular fight of a career that may have now surpassed legendary as he stopped the bigger, stronger and younger Gabriel Gonzaga at 1:37 of the third round to retain his UFC heavyweight title.


Coming in as the underdog for the 11th time in his career, Couture proved the casual fans, who largely believed he would win, to be smarter than the oddsmakers, gamblers and most experts who felt the clock would strike finally midnight on this sports fairy tale.

It didn't matter if the match was slow or fast, as the sellout crowd of 11,118 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas reacted to every move of Couture. He took some punches, as well as two hard body kicks at the start of the third round, in a match he otherwise dominated.

Couture outstruck the 28-year-old Gonzaga, now 8-2, and dictated almost the entire match by controlling Gonzaga in the clinch. He busted Gonzaga's nose early with a takedown and took him down several times, which wasn't easy because Gonzaga had a 24-pound weight edge.

Finally, with the 252-pound Brazilian running low on energy, Couture pounded on him on the ground until ref Herb Dean stopped the fight.

"The takedown was what broke his nose," Couture said. "I heard it in my ear as we landed. After that, I felt a little difference pace. It was harder for him to stay focused."

Couture's 16-8 record doesn't look remarkable on paper, but his record of winning five different UFC championships in two weight classes, two after the age of 40, is something that is going to be hard to equal. The freaky part about Couture is that people normally don't improve in areas like hand speed, power, movement, and reflexes after the age of 40, but Couture's stand-up looked the strongest and most efficient of his career.

While not confirmed, UFC officials after the fight were talking about another Brazilian, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, the former Pride heavyeight champion, as Couture's next opponent.

But before that, Couture's next venture will be altogether different, as he will have a lead role in a prequel to the movie The Scorpion King in October.

Regarding his outside commitments affecting his fighting schedule, Couture said, "It doesn't really work what way. The businesses I have aren't gong anywhere. When I get the call to fight this guy on this date, I clear the calendar and go about training and peaking for the fight."

Couture, who rarely asks for a specific opponent, wants a match with Fedor Emelianenko, generally considered the world's best heavyweight. Negotiations between Dana White and Emelianenko's representatives have gone hot and cold over the past two months, but they have another meeting scheduled for the next week.

"The fight was awesome," said White. "(Couture) is a freak. Every time you think, `Oh no, he can't win again.' ... Gabriel Gonzaga is an amazing fighter. He's a monster. You saw how strong he was when Randy tried to take him down. Randy went down and got right in his face and put it to him the whole time. Actually, you saw him suck the heart right out of him in the first round. After that, it was Randy's fight."

Couture had to share center stage on the show with Montreal's Georges St-Pierre, who earned himself a welterweight title shot by winning a unanimous decision over Josh Koscheck.

With Canadian flags flying everywhere, it was clear a solid percentage of the fans came from North of the Border. One of the biggest crowd reactions of the show came when St-Pierre, who lost the welterweight title on April 7 in Houston to Matt Serra, asked UFC President Dana White to schedule a show in Montreal.

The perfect match would be St-Pierre challenging the winner of the Dec. 29 welterweight title match between Matt Serra and Matt Hughes.

St-Pierre, at 14-2, won the decision in what was for the most part a wrestling match, scoring three takedowns on a former NCAA champion. St-Pierre, coming off a shocking loss to Matt Serra in dropping his welterweight title, changed his camp and his friends, and came to the cage almost possessed.

Koscheck, now 11-2, showed improved stand-up and was in the fight early, but in the second and third round St-Pierre took control.

"It was a strategy," said St-Pierre, about his trying to turn it into a wrestling match. "Josh is a very good wrestler ... but he's not used to fighting from his back from what I've seen. Most of the time he's on top of his opponent. My game plan was to put him out of his comfort zone. That was the key to my success. That's what I did and it worked out well."

Joe Stevenson, 33-7, also had title aspirations on the line in a hard-fought win over Kurt Pellegrino, 16-3. Stevenson, who suffered a broken jaw in the first round, scored the decision in a bout where both men relied on their wrestling as well. Stevenson took control in the third round to clinch the win, taking a unanimous decision. If lightweight champ Sean Sherk is suspended after failing a steroid test, Stevenson and B.J. Penn look to be the two leading contenders in a match for the vacant title.

Stevenson also pulled off the move of the night, taking Pellegrino overhead with a picture-perfect German suplex in Round 2.

Perhaps the most spectacular finish came from another Montreal native, Patrick Cote, who upset Hawaiian Kendall Grove in 4:45 of the first round. Cote was losing the round until he cracked Grove with a right to the side of the head causing him to crumble.


In other results Lightweight Roger Huerta def. Alberto Crane at 1:50 of the third round via ref stoppage; light heavyweight Renato Sobral def. David Heath with a choke at 3:30 of the second round; former heavyweight champion Frank Mir def. Antoni Hardonk in 1:17 with a Kimura; middleweight Thales Leitis def. Ryan Jensen in 3:47 with an armbar; and lightweight Clay Guida won a split decision over Marcus Aurelio.

Sobral ended up in trouble with the Nevada State Athletic Commission over not releasing the choke for several seconds after Heath tapped out. The Nevada State Athletic Commission withheld $25,000 from Sobral's purse after the match.

The grudge started the day before at the weigh-ins when Sobral said Heath used profanity at him as they had just finished squaring off for the cameras.

h

Vince135792003

gimmick wrote:

I am in London on Saturday week and am trying to convince the buddy to go to UFC 75. Cheap tickets still available for £25.

Make him watch this: http://75.ufc.com/

gimmick

Im basing my main tactic around the ring girls, and they are usually smoking hot. Fighting a loosing battle I fear

Mossy Monk

Go by yourself.

Vince135792003

gimmick wrote:

Im basing my main tactic around the ring girls, and they are usually smoking hot. Fighting a loosing battle I fear

Well with 25 quid tickets, you'd probably need some pretty strong binoculars to see them!

fatal

UFC 75 is a great card.Is your friend not a UFC fan or something because for 25 quid there are few cards that match up to this one.Im very excited about ufc 75

Vince135792003

Randy broke his arm in the 3rd round. From the fight network:

By Loretta Hunt (loretta@thefightnetwork.com) and Brian Knapp

COUTURE BREAKS ARM

Even Superman feels it from time to time.

Following yet another feather-in-his-cap performance Saturday at UFC 74 in Las Vegas, real life superhero Randy Couture (16-8), was informed Sunday by doctors that he’d broken his arm during his third round TKO stoppage of Gabriel Gonzaga (8-2).

Couture, 44, sustained the injury Saturday blocking a Gonzaga right high kick with his left forearm, cleanly separating the ulna bone with a “nightstick fracture,” a break common in law enforcement circles. The injury placed the UFC heavyweight champion’s arm in a splint for six weeks. The appendage will not need a cast.

“It’s not displaced, so the doctors think it will reattach in about a week and a half,” said Couture, who embarks on a South African adventure to shoot a leading role in major motion picture “The Scorpion King – The Akkadian” in nearly six weeks. It is believed the injury will not effect Couture’s shooting schedule.

Fozzy

Randy's just amazing

Fighter payouts from mmanews.com:

-Randy Couture ($250,000) def. Gabriel Gonzaga ($45,000)
-Georges St. Pierre ($140,000) def. Josh Koscheck ($10,000)
-Roger Huerta ($34,000) def. Alberto Crane ($4,000)
-Joe Stevenson ($32,000) def. Kurt Pellegrino ($8,000)
-Patrick Cote ($24,000) def. Kendall Grove ($12,000)
-Renato "Babalu" Sobral ($50,000) def. David Heath ($6,000)
-Frank Mir ($72,000) def. Antoni Hardonk ($8,000)
-Thales Leites ($18,000) def. Ryan Jensen ($4,000)
-Clay Guida ($14,000) def. Marcus Aurelio ($30,000)

Total fighter pay outs: $761,000

It's been reported that Babalu is only getting half of that for not letting go of his choke. Guida should be getting more, he's a great fighter, just never stops