THE TORCH: THE #1 WORLDWIDE BRAND IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE - OVER 250 MILLION VIEWS & LISTENS PER YEAR REREACHING MORE FANS EVERY WEEK THAN ANY OTHER INDEPENDENT SOURCE • VIA THE WEB, MOBILE, PRINT NEWSLETTER, AND ITUNES
A bout between two UFC Hall of Famers (at a combined age of 90) is coming to UFC 109, according to a report from Sherdog.com, as Randy Couture and Mark Coleman have verbally agreed to a bout on the February 6th card in Las Vegas, NV.
Couture will fight for the third time in less than six months, something that he hasn't done since 2001, after a heavyweight loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira necessitated a drop to light heavyweight, where he defeated Brandon Vera last Saturday in Manchester, England at UFC 105.
Coleman will return to action for the first time since his UFC 100 victory over Stephan Bonnar. He was set to return this Saturday to face Tito Ortiz, but pulled out of the bout due to a knee injury.
Not only will the bout be the first time two UFC Hall of Famers have faced off against one another, it will be a fight nearly twelve years in the making. The two were originally scheduled to face off at UFC 17 in 1998 before Couture pulled out due to injury. The two share remarkably similar records, though Couture's career has been the much more highly acclaimed and celebrated throughout the last decade.
UFC 109 is expected to be headlined by a UFC Middleweight Title bout between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.
Penick's Analysis: This is literally a "battle for the aged." Couture didn't look great against Brandon Vera on Saturday; not that he looked terrible either, he simply wasn't highly impressive, and this bout actually makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons. Couture definitely needs a couple of victories in a row at this point to come anywhere near getting a title shot against Lyoto Machida, and Mark Coleman wants to prove that he still has what it takes to compete in the light heavyweight division. He made great strides in that respect by beating Stephan Bonnar in July in an impressive performance, and a victory over "The Natural" would definitely keep him around for a while longer. This won't be the prettiest fight and it may not be the most exciting, but it will be important for both fighters in the big picture of whether they can continue their career with both well into their forties.
ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick, Rich Hansen, and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.
"There's still a large contingent of people, that they just want to see these guys almost die, or the other guy almost die and come back, and sometimes fights are like that. Certainly they are. But sometimes you get technical masterpieces too, and to hate a beautiful, technical fight - you're not really a fight fan...
Diaz has a granite chin, possesses perhaps the best recovery in the sport, his pace and conditioning are second to none and he sets records with the volume of his punches almost every time he steps into the cage. Nick Diaz is simply designed to fight the way he fights, and not many other fighters are...
"There was a lot of poison going on around there and I'm really disappointed because we had a good thing going. It was a good thing and I think people's egos got in the way. Well, not people just Javier, his ego got in the way, and too many cameras in the gym and him trying to build himself up and his brand, his AKA brand...
PART OF THE USA TODAY UFC GROUP