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
In one of the more prophetic choices of entrance song in UFC history, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture entered the Octagon on Saturday night at UFC 109 to Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold." After dominating the first round with superior striking and masterful dirty boxing in the clinch, Couture took fellow UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman to the canvas in the second round and locked on a rear naked choke, putting Coleman out cold.
Both fighters came into this one with something to prove, to show to fans everywhere that at 45 and 46 years of age, respectively, they both still had what it takes to compete with the best in this sport. For Couture, he showed exactly why he's been able to have success this late in his career, fighting his best fight in the last few years.
The rear naked choke was Couture's first submission victory in four and a half years, and the overall performance was better than any he's had since a Heavyweight Title defense over Gabriel Gonzaga in 2007. He was crisp in his striking, his dirty boxing battered Coleman against the cage, and he finished it off convincingly in the second.
For Coleman, this fight showed that the doubters were likely correct. He did not look good in any facet of the fight, getting thoroughly outclassed and looking every bit his 45 years of age. It was simply clear that Couture has consistently evolved his game throughout his career while Coleman has simply stayed the same fighter he's always been.
The impressive win vaults Couture right into the Title picture in the light heavyweight division, and a fight with perhaps the winner of Forrest Griffin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira could be the next step for him to get another crack at the Light Heavyweight Championship he held twice before.
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