Fight Card for UFC 102 Finalized With 11 Bouts
The fight card for UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira, which is set to take place on August 29th at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, has been finalized.
Joining a heavyweight headliner between Randy Coture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on the pay-per-view main card are Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva, Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt, Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt, and Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera.
The event’s now-complete 11-bout lineup features:
MAIN CARD
- Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
- Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
- Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
- Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt
- Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer
- Wilson Gouveia vs. James Irvin
- Junior Dos Santos vs. Justin McCully
- Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow
- Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
- Evan Dunham vs. Matt Veach
Tags: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brandon Vera, Chris Leben, Chris Tuchscherer, Demian Maia, Evan Dunham, Gabriel Gonzaga, Jake Rosholt, James Irvin, Junior dos Santos, Justin McCully, Keith Jardine, mark munoz, Matt Hamill, Matt Veach, mike russow, Nate Marquardt, Nick Catone, Randy Couture, Thiago Silva, Todd Duffee, Wilson Gouveia
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this should be a damn good card, my only complaint is that maia-marquardt isnt the co-main event, or the second to last fight. leben’s fight gets to go ahead of maia, as does jardine’s? that makes no sense. gouveia-irvin is looking like the leading canidate for knockout of the night, that fight is going to be sick and explosive.
This is a really interesting card…… Thaigo Silva v Jardine is going to be a good match, wonder what will happen if Jardine gets KO’d?
Maia v Nate~! finally I get to see this fight Hellls to the Ya ! (my personal Main Event right here)
Jake and Chris is just going to be a fight to keep your job (but I think both would be brought back to the UFC if they put “wins” together)
Randy and Big Nog just two legands going at it and trying to get back to another shot o and this is Randy’s second fight back in the UFC (after wasting a year and a half of our time waiting to see what happend with his “legal issues”) sooo if he gets dominated perhaps he will retire? If Big Nog wins impressivly he could get a contract extension imo
o and Hamill v Vera is going to be Freakin Sweet
yeah Jake-Chris will be a “keep my job fight” for sure. It should be a good fight cause Jake is decent all around and Leben always comes to fight(except against Bisping). I can’t wait to see Silva-Jardine and i’m hoping that Silva wins either by gNp or sub, whatever as long as he wins. And Hamill-Vera is gonna be sick as hell. If Couture wins, he’ll problably want a title shot, but if he loses what’s left for him? If Nog wins he’ll want to make another run at the title. This is another awesome card that should have lots of memorable endings(hopefully).
I don’t think Randy wants to see Brock’s 4-5XL, concrete football sized fists again. If he still has the after next week.
Very exciting card to say the least. But I don’t understand the order of the fights.
Leben loses his last fight AND tested positive for steroids and he’s on the main card. His record as of late is less than stellar.
Jardine should not be co-headlining this. He lost his last fight, he’s 6-4 in the UFC (2-3 in his last 5, 4-4 in his last 8), and he hasn’t finished anyone since Dec. of ‘06 (not saying you need to finish to be exciting, but I’m just saying).
Take Jardine off the poster, and put Hamill or Vera in his place; at least they’re coming off wins.
You know what i’ve noticed? There is no particular “order” of fights on the main card unless it’s the main event or co-main event. I can’t really think of any examples @ the moment, but that’s what it’s been lately. So maia and marquardt before the leben fight really doesn’t mean anything. It just means we get the “better” fights earlier in the night which i actually preffer.
UFC 102.
This is looking to be one of the best cards of the year dude. Top to bottom, main card and pre-lim fights, this will be a sick all around event.
Couture vs big nog-Whoever wins will need 1 more win after to get a title shot- Big Nog by sub 2nd round
Jardine vs Silva- Jardine needs to keep this fight standing and thiago needs to take it to the mat-Thiago via GnP
Maia vs Nate-Feel bad for either winner, doesnt look like either will get a shot for a while cuz of hendo vs bisping, silva vs forrest and a possible silva vs gsp.- Nate via ud
Vera vs Hamill-Big win will place the winner in the top 10 lhw. I’m pulling for vera because he’d make for more exciting fights @ lhw. I like hamill too but he’d have trouble against top lhw’s and i think vera could eventually actually reach the top.-Vera by tko 2nd
wow crazy, gonzaga’s fight and junior’s fight is both prelims? that makes for a pretty cool card lookin forward to all except randys fight, glad to see leben back in octagon
Makes no sense to want to see a cheater [Leben} over a legend {Randy} even if he’s on his way out. This card is so stacked. I chose to attend this one just seeing Randy was headlining and ended up getting to go to the best card I’ve ever seen on paper. Of course I’m looking forward to UFC 100 witch will be epic and has the potential to see some new champs.
Couture
Silva
Leben
Maia
Vera
Good point turk
How could you want to watch a disgrace to the sport instead of a pioneer,legend and ambassador of the sport? (i’m not even a couture fan)
silva? he is SO over-rated he’s done nothing impressive in his entire ufc carrer,
Thank god somebody finally noticed. I was blabbin about that a while back which seemed to be to deaf ears.
-Irvin blew out his knee
-had a close fight with drwal. That should speak for itself
-beat houston via GNP…..so did Eric Schaffer
-was getting a blasting from mendez and got knocked down twice until the guy gasses and he ends up mounting him.
-is the only guy in the UFC who couldnt last 1 round with Lyoto.
Im no big “sardine” fan but he should be able to deal with Thiago.
@Turk,
your taste is superb…..Top to bottom this is the best card I have seen…IMO
Brandon Vera vs. Matt Hamill is a very interesting fight. Vera was once an up and coming contender at Heavyweight, and Hamill is a an up an coming 205-er. I honestly think that Brandon Vera lost focus and some of his swagger after taking that long layoff and coming back against Tim Sylvia. He looks way better now and i honesstly feel he’s very well rounded and definitely has the skill set to hang and beat most of the 205 contenders. Vera IMO is has some of the best overall stand-up at 205 and carries ko power in his punches,legs and has the sickest Muay Thai at 205. If he beats Hamill which i expect him to do, i hope he’ll be the next guy to fight Franklin, that would make more sense than Franklin fighting anyone else being that he wants to make a run at the title and Franklin and Vera can be possible future #1 contenders. Now if Matt Hamill wins he should get the winner of Jardine-Silva, but i honestly don’t feel that he’s going to beat Vera…he has his wrestling that can do it for him, but Vera is decent off his back and has good subs. If Vera can avoid the takewodwn it’s lights out for Hamill because Hamill is not going to land his new “cro-cop” style kick on Vera like he did Munoz.
Now at first i disliked the fact that UFC matchmakers put Mardquart vs. Maia simply because Demian Maia is clearly the #1 contender AND i felt he deserved a shot at the title even before Thales Leites, BUT now that that’s not going to happen.. If Maia wins he for sure should get a title shot next. However, if Marquardt wins, i still feel he’s one win away from getting a title shot being that he blew his last shot AND lost to Thales Leites, BUT if he wins he does get past Maia who is IMO the ture #1 conteder at 185. This should be a very good fight. Marqurart is well rounded and is strong as hell BUT Maia has the sickest BJJ at 185 by far and if he takes you down, it’s over period.
If Keith Jardine wins he earns what i believe to be his final hopes for making a run at the title. If he does beat Thiago Silva he’ll most likey fight another contender and if he gets passed that guy, he’ll have new life at 205, but that’s a long shot for him considering his history of not being able to win a few in a row especially against top contenders and Thiago Silva is for sure going to make it hard for him to win. With that being said, if Thiago wins, i’m not quite sure where that places him, maybe he’ll take on Franklin or the loser of Rampage-Evans or if Forrest beats A. Silva, he can fight Forrest. If the fight stays standing, Jardine has the edge, if it goes to the ground it’s lights out for the “Dean Of Mean”.
Great stuff Marvel im with you across the board. Who are your picks for these fights?
This is a good card, but how is this card better than UFC 100?!?! THAT card is “STACKED!” That said though, this IS a decent card.
I think Noguiera takes out Randy for good. Captain America has to retire at SOME point, and that point is this fight.
Jardine always surprises me, but I think he loses this one to Silva.
Ive NEVER liked Leben and now that he’s a cheater, I like him less. I HOPE Rosholt turns his lights out in the first but I THINK Leben wins. grr
Maia vs Marquardt and Hamill vs Vera are really the fights to watch on this card! They are going to be very interesting. I say Maia and Vera, although I’d be happy with ANY outcome here.
Go Nate, time for Maia to get a beat down. No one in MW division is as strong as him and I say he wins with superior striking and control, but definitely a dangerous fight. Should be the main event or at least co-main event.
I can answer M@’s question regarding how UFC 102 will be better than UFC 100 [for me anyway] with two words : Randy Couture.
Thanks to priceline [not an endorsement here] I’ll be in Portland with a sweet hotel room discounted at like 65% off for the event. Considering as how in other posts I’ve laid into the UFC for not always giving me my money’s worth, I need to settle in for a heaping plate of crow, and offer up humble apologies. The Couture-Nog fight alone prompted me to spring for the trip, and when you factor in the most of the other fights, I have to admit that it’s a real bargain for MMA fans when you consider ticket prices, airfare, car rental, hotel room, meals, etc.
If Couture wins I’ll be springing for drinks in the hotel bar, and if he loses I’ll be glad to see him finally retire. Lord knows he’s earned it. This Hall-of Famer’s a real class act, a true sportsman, great ambassador for the sport, and who I’ll always think of when I hear the words “pro MMA fighter”. Of course he’s had his issues with the UFC, but I blame both parties equally there. For me the important thing is that Couture go out on a strong performance against a quality opponent like Nog, instead of his last fight against Brock Lesnar, which was a physical mismatch to put it politely, or something like that god-awful Scorpion King sequel.
Do I think Couture can beat Nog? Yes.
Do I think Couture will beat Nog? Sad to say, probably not. At some point age catches up with everyone, even Captain America. Nog has IMO something to prove after losing to Mir, and will in all likelihood take it out on Couture.
Of course, that being said, this is the type of fight that Couture usually finds a way to win, so I’m really curious to see if he can turn back the clock again against a younger, larger grappler with maybe a little chip on his shoulder after the Mir fight.
Will I be at the Rose Garden wearing an Xtreme Couture rashguard and cheering for Couture as hard as I can? Absolutely.
Who do I like to win on the main card ??
My heart says Couture, my head says Nog.
I guess that somehow represents the duality of Man.
Jardine – I know this will be a minority opinion, but I think maybe this is the fight where Jardine puts it all together, otherwise, he’s done with contending IMO. Jardine has a lot more to lose than Silva does at this point of both of their careers.
Leben – this guy has given me a rash since the first time I saw him, and I’ll be pulling like Hell for Rosholt, but my gut tells me Leben wins this one, most likely a slugfest.
Marquardt – I know this will also be a minority opinion, but I like the former King of Pancrase’s experience, power and striking here. Of course if it goes to the ground for more than say 30 seconds, or too often, Marquardt is done, as Maia’s BJJ is that good. I also think this is a sort of “make or break” fight for Marquardt. If Maia loses he’ll get more chances, but a Marquardt loss really stalls his title hopes.
Vera – I have a lot of respect for what Hamill has overcome in his life, and for his performances as a pro MMA fighter. I just think that Vera will have the edge in experience, speed, and is more well-rounded than Hamill. Of course Hamill can probably grind out a UD if he can pull off some sort of g-n-p clinic, but the odds of that are small I think.
I know I’m going to catch a lot of static for some of my picks, but its all good. When you pick against fighters at the talent level of Silva or Maia, you deserve to get laughed at by the collective.
I agree with all your stuff here man.(you might have noticed my comments about some of these matchups on other threads)But I actually cant belive a couture fan like yuorself thinks that Nog has this fight. Anyone can tell that the dude isnt fighting as good as he has lately. To be honest i wasnt impressed with any of his UFC fights so far. Im to expect hes all of a sudden going to turn it around? And im tired of hearing about how Randy’s age is going to catch up with him. That guy will be a good and Relavent fighter until he retires regardless of age. Like how many times does he ahve to prove it. I dont even care that he loss to a 280 pound monster. I was more impressed with Couture in that fight than Brock.
Sure Nog can win this fight, but I see him getting worked over the entire bout in all areas unless he pulls off some sub(likely an arm bar)
There are so many intriguing fights on that card. UFC 102 could very well be the best MMA event of 2009. Silva/Jardine and Gouveia/Irvin should be competing for the KO of the night bonus!
Agreed, this is a card where you wish there were more pay-per-view spots as a lot of the undercard fights are definitely worthy of airtime. We can hold out hope some of the fights are short and they can squeeze one or two onto the broadcast.
I always pull for seeing as many under card fights as possible.
great card top to bottom. Can’t wait to see Big Nog retire Randy once and for all. Most beloved Champion of all time my ass. He’s 15-9 and about to be 15-10. I didn’t get to vote WTF
As much as I hate to admit it, ronnyRAGE is probably right in thinking that Nog will beat Couture, however he’s dead wrong when it comes to Couture’s status in the sport, but he’s entitled to his opinion.
And just in case Captain America appears one more time and treats Nog the same way Mir did, or worse, I’ll be glad to buy all of those Couture-doubters and -haters a beer over at the Avalon Hotel bar after 102…
Whats with the disrespect dude? I think Couture is one of the guys that you dont look at his record but more at who hes beat and how.
the maia-marquardt fight will prove if maia is for real. if maia can hang in the striking game with nate[easier said then done], I think nate will try to takedown maia to do GnP, however by doing that he is going to the ground with the anaconda. I know nate is argurably the strongest guy at 185, if maia is able to submit nate it will show that maia can sub anyone at that weight, based on the fact that nate would not be able to use his physical strength to break out of maia’s subs.
I know nate is a blackbelt in bjj, he trains at the great greg jackson camp with the takedown machine gsp, and rashad, not to mention those other studs. however maia submits other multiple degree blackbelts, if im not mistaken he wrecks in grappling contests, I agree that maia is the number one contender at 185, but he will not be getting a title shot anytime soon, if maia wins he gets the loser of hendo-bisping, and then maybe vitor if he comes over to the ufc.
BELIEVE ME Nate is not going to try and take Maia down period. He knows this is his shot to get back in title contention at 185, and taking Maia down to work some GnP is not gonna get him there. Im actually going to be surprised if Nate doesnt win. Granted if he stays on the mat for any extened period of time he will be in trouble but it took Maia 3 rounds to submit Jason Mcdonald who I think is half the fighter Nate is. I see a long night for Maia as he struggles to take down the bigger, faster, stronger, and more experienced and well rounded Marquardt.
Ryan jensen, Ed Herman, Jason Macdonald, Chael Sonnen, all of their losses come heavily by submission. And Nate Quarry has never been known as a grappler. Maia is the best BJJ guy at 185 right now no doubt but i do feel that he is slightly overrated. Il have my crow deep fried if he wins though.
I can’t wait until Randy shuts up these doubters. You guy’s kill me man. Umm Did you guys not watch the Mir/Nog fight? Did you see how easily MIr took apart Nog? Randy will do the same I’m afraid. His wrestling is second to none ahh OK maybe GSP is close but anyway I really believe you guys will be shocked when Couture pretty easily handles Nog. Also remember Nog had never been STOPPED before in a fight O except in his last fight. If Randy loses I’m more than likely gonna be salty as he will never be in contention again.
Good stuff Turk. Finally someone here giving Randy some cred.
Read my response to jcohl.
Believe me Turk & carls, I’d hand over the pink slip to my ragtop to the Devil himself if I thought it would guarantee Couture getting past Nog and earning another crack at the Vanilla Gorilla, and I love that car. I’m dropping some decent money to fly across the country to be at UFC 102, and as stated if Couture wins drinks are on me afterwards at the Avalon Hotel’s bar, but I’m just not entirely convinced that at Couture’s age he’ll be able to do his Captain America thing against so talented an opponent.
I’m partly going because it’s going to be a great event, partly because if Couture wins it’ll be one of the greatest nights of my life, and partly because if Couture loses, it’s probably the end of the road for the Grand Old Man of the sport, and I’d like to be there to figuratively say goodbye if it works out that way.
It’s also entirely possible that my judgement on this fight is completely off-kilter in terms of picking Couture again after UFC 91, in which I spent a small fortune to be in attendence, and never thought in a million years that Couture wouldn’t win against an over-hyped and fast-tracked pro wrestler. I was so miserable after Couture lost the title that my wife went to stay with her sister for nearly 5 weeks until I “got over it” because I was “impossible to live with”.
Whatever.
Sorry, but I take my MMA and particularly Couture fights pretty seriously, otherwise I’m a normal guy. Really.
I’m also fan enough and man enough to admit I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on Couture walkout wear and other apparel, dating back to his Team Quest and ProSub League days. And while it physically pains me to say it, even though my heart tells me Couture’s got this one and will dominate Nog, my head tells me that at some point it’ll be time for Captain America to hang ‘em up for good, and to not go into “post-UFC 91 trauma” again.
Finally, after having shaken the mans hand a few times at fan fests, getting a picture and having him sign some stuff for me, I would follow the guy into combat if he asked me to, and yes, I have his picture on my wall, to reference something I said the other day regarding a different topic.
Actually it’s a signed UFC 68 promo poster, but I guess thats besides the point. Apologies if I made it sound like I wasn’t giving the Natural his just due, I just didnt want to come across as some Couture fanboy [which I obviously and totally am] who is unable to look at match-ups involving his favorite fighter reasonably.
Its just that I didn’t think mmafrenzy is the proper place to express my embarrassing man-crush on Randy Couture, when we’re supposed to be objectively and intelligently discussing the breakdown of fights and other key issues, and asked to stay on-topic.
Sorry for the digression.
Back to the fight itself, I know that last time out Nog looked almost feeble against Mir, but I think injuries were partly to blame, and I also think that maybe Nog took Mir a bit lightly, and got stunned early by some strikes. Mir prior to the Nog fight has never been mistaken for Chuck Liddell in his stand-up game, and on the ground Nog understandably figured he could handle everything Mir threw at him, and more. I feel it’s safe to say that Nog got hoodwinked just as much as he got curb-stomped, but thats what MMA is all about, finding ways to win. Good on Mir, shame on Nog.
I also honestly don’t know anyone who accurately predicted BOTH Mir’s win and the method by which he won, so I tend to cut Nog some slack.
I will say that if the same or close to the same Nog that fought Mir shows up in Portland, which I think is unlikely but possible, Randy will put on an Xtreme Couture clinic, by which he’ll maneuver Nog into the cage, unsettle him with some dirty boxing, use his superior wrestling ability to put Nog on his back, and then g-n-p him until the ref stops the fight or the clock ends the round.
Ideally Mir would submit Lesnar again, Couture will clinch and crunch Nog, and then Couture faces Mir down the road in what I’m sure would be so expensive an event in Vegas that I’d need to borrow against my house to go.
And of course I totally would…
Those thinking randy will handle and pick apart Nogueria are incorrect i believe. Mir did destroy Nog in that fight but Nog was clearly not himself. I know everyone likes to play the injury card, but in this case (as in shogun v Forrest, ha thats not gonna win me any fans but its true). Nog had injuries to his body, not to mention the fact that he just got out of the hospital for a flippin’ staph infection. Those are incredibly draining physically, as Ive witnessed two of my friends spend a week in the hospital, and still have considerable recovery time afterward. While I think the +’s people are giving randy in this fight are true, I think that a healthy in shape NOG (which he will be for sure!) should be able to use his size and phenomenal ground skills to neutralize and control randy if not submit him.
turk bignog was not even close to 50% healthy for that fight against mir, he had just gotten over a staph infection and pnemunoia and still fought. randy has the skills to beat him in the striking department, but please do not make it seem like mir is great, he caught big nog at the right time to embarass him, i promise you if that fight were to happen with big nog at even 80-90% healthy he would beat mir.
so many things are wrong with what you are saying..
Please god let Maia lay around on his back like a punk for the whole match then loose his job so he can go back to grappling tournaments where he belongs.
wow you’re talking about a guy that is 10~0~0 and has won with 1 decision, 1 (t)ko and 8 submission’s…… Interesting that you have such hate for a great grappler Vinz or are u just attempting to start an arguement for this is Mixed Martial Arts aka MMA not kickboxing or boxing, so I truly doubt he is a punk and just lays around on the ground… I could go further but that would be counter productive.
Looks to me like he was just trying to get himself in trouble by breaking the rules of the Frenzy…. it worked.