Couture vs. Big Nog May Be For A Shot At The Title
By Bryan Levick on Aug 27, 2009
Tomorrow night’s heavyweight showdown between former UFC heavyweight champions, Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera may have title implications attached to it.
During a meet and greet with the media yesterday, Couture said that the idea has been “tossed around”.
The current champion Brock Lesnar is scheduled to meet Shane Carwin at UFC 106 in November with the winner possibly facing the winner of the Couture-Big Nog matchup.
Other contenders in the mix are Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filopovic who is set to fight Junior Dos Santos next month at UFC 103 in Dallas. Cain Velasquez is also another fighter whose named has been thrown into the mix. He was originally scheduled to face Carwin at UFC 104 but will now face off against former IFL heavyweight champion Ben Rothwell. A win by either fighter could vault them to the top of the rankings.
Then there is always former champion Frank Mir. Mir is scheduled to fight Cheick Kongo at UFC 107. A win by Mir would put him right back in the thick of things. Kongo would need to string together a few wins before he would receive any consideration. He is coming off a loss to Velasquez at UFC 99.
Couture seems to be in great shape and told the media that he is a better fighter today than he was when he started 12 years ago. Known for his solid wrestling, great cardio and setting up and executing solid game plans, Couture is seeking his sixth championship with the organization. He has held the heavyweight title on three occasions and the light heavyweight crown twice.
To read the full article please visit MMA Weekly.
Filed Under: MMA
Comments (1)
Get 1 Now
Get Free Gear
Why? On the one hand everyone is talking about both needing a win desperately to resurrect their careers. Now a title shot? There are two reasons 1. The Heavyweight division is weak. There is potential in Carwin, Dos Santos, and Velasquez, but are they ready for title contention? We will find out soon. 2. Outside of Lesnar, Couture, and maybe Mir and Nogueira most of the HW is unknown to the majority of the casual UFC fans. Even Cro Cop is known for getting KO’d by Gonzaga more than anything else. Maybe TUF will fix this somewhat, but the UFC has ignored this division for a while and it shows.