We have brought back the popular MMATorch Roundtable feature. Most days we will publish a question followed by several staff members' answers. We will run several batches of staff responses to the following question over the next several days, and then introduce a new topic after that.
TODAY'S NEW TOPIC:
Predict the winner of the Randy Couture-Mark Coleman fight on Saturday night.
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JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
I think Randy Couture takes a decision in a good fight. Both guys are out to prove something in this one, to themselves and to fans everywhere, but at this point in their careers Couture is the better fighter and he'll be able to do what he needs to do to win this one on Saturday night.
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SAM MATTHEW, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Randy Couture should dominate Coleman on Saturday night. Though both are highly-respected grapplers, Couture has a striking advantage, and that will make both takedowns and cage control much easier. Look for Couture to muscle Coleman around, press him against the cage and use dirty boxing to grind out his usual unanimous decision victory.
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ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
No one really seems to care about this fight as a whole because many feel that this fight is past its expiration date for it to actually matter. I disagree. Yes, this fight would be more relevant had it been done at the height of both fighters careers (first phase for Couture, only phase for Coleman). The reason this fight should be of interest is that these two guys are legends at the level of Royce Gracie for the sport of MMA.
Couture may have been able to use his clinch, dirty boxing, and wrestling game to numerous championships, but it was Coleman who first successfully used the techniques of grappling and mat-wrestling to in some ways, create the art of ground-and-pound.
Thing is, Coleman needs this fight more than Couture. A win for Coleman would catapult him back into the spotlight in MMA and give thoughts that he may not be the only man in his 40s who can give anyone a run for his money. Sadly, I don't see it happening. What I see is Couture controlling most of the fight, both on the ground and standing up in the clinch, and securing a late 2nd or early 3rd round TKO.
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ANDREW O'DONNELL, MMATORCH SPECIALIST
The base of both fighters is the wrestling aspect. Couture has looked great in his later years and Coleman has been known to gas early for several years. I see Randy working his dirty boxing to a unamious decision victory. I did pick Coleman over Stephan Bonnar, but Coleman time and time again fails at attempting a gameplan only relying on his wrestling leaving him winded and it will be the deciding factor especially in the third round..
Our next batch of Roundtable Topics to be addressed over the next week or two are as follows (so keep coming back to MMATorch every day for this and more exclusive features):
-If Randy Couture beats Mark Coleman convincingly, what's your pick for Couture's next opponents? And Coleman?
-If Mark Coleman beats Randy Couture convincing, what's your pick for Coleman's next fight? And Couture?
-Who are the two or three current Strikeforce fighters (other than Fedor) you'd be most intrigued to see acquired by UFC. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?
-Who are the two or three current UFC fighters you'd be most intrigued to see leave UFC for whatever reason (perhaps not being given a fair shake, already fought everyone, hit a ceiling, etc.) and be acquired by Strikeforce. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?
-Would you prefer Strikeforce in two years was out of business, close to UFC's equal (in revenue, ratings, buyrates, talent roster), or had surpassed UFC (assuming UFC stays static in the mean time)? Why?
-Should UFC add a women's fighting division?
-What would you do to try to make WEC successful on PPV, even if in general you disagree with WEC going on PPV? In other words, what advice would you give to Zuffa assuming they were open to some outside-the-box or aggressive marketing ideas?
[Mark Coleman photo credit Mike Lano (c) MMATorch]
