The UFC heavyweight title will be on the line Saturday night when reigning champion Randy “The Natural†Couture takes on top contender Gabriel Gonzaga at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The highly anticipated match-up headlines UFC 74: Respect pitting arguably the two best heavyweights in the UFC. http://fightbeat.com/article_detail.php?AT=477
There's some interesting fights on this card, but I think matchup wise, it won't be the most entertaining UFC of the year. Couture\Gonzaga and GSP\Koshcheck could be good, but they could just as easily be stinkers. If I had to pick winners, I'm gonna pick Gonzaga and Koshcheck, both by decision. Randy has had problems with big guys before, and I think GSP is terribly overated. TFK
You were wrong on both counts :: Randy just beat the absolute FUCK out of gonzaga, amazing. The guy is a freak of nature, like hopkins. He just hammered the shit out of him, almost made him quit, then took him out. Good on Randy.
I might get flamed for this but I think Randy has a chance against any Heavyweight even Fedor and Nogeira......ok,flame away.::
BTG - I would make Fedor the favourite, but Randy has a chance for sure, it would not amaze me. And an even bigger chance against Nog. I still can't believe China Chuck beat Randy.
Of course he would be the underdog and IMO I think he lose to both but he won't make it easy for either and it wouldn't surprise me if he proved me wrong. Randy was going through a divorce and other personnel problems when he fought Chuck,not to say he would of won but I think he would of put up a better performance than he did
Guess he should have learned the first time? It took 2 times? :: I think Fedor beats Randy HOWEVER, I am not sure how Fedor would react to elbows on the mat. Fedor's biggest weakness is that he cuts.
Gonzaga was overmatched both in skills and experience. There's one thing I don't understand though. When Randy scooped him up and slammed him, his head smashed into Gonzaga's nose. Headbutts are not allowed in the UFC. Gonzaga obviously was affected by the headbutt, despite it being accidental. The blood obviously affected his vision/performance as he complained to Herb Dean about the blood affecting his vision. All Herb said to him was "Do you wanna fight, do you wanna fight?" :dunno: If not for the headbutt, there would've been no blood and no shattered nose. Was this just a case of the referee not seeing how the broken nose occured and therefore took no action? If Herb saw Randy's head smash Gonzaga's nose, what should he have done?
Fedor/Couture gets more interesting by the day as I think about it. Randy's stand up has really improved and his Greco Roman is second to none. Hey, I heard Noguira is next in line for a shot at Couture's title?
Chuck used a good gameplan. He suckered Randy in and blasted him with a right hand. Couture was very flat footed and looked awful. Their first fight saw Couture throw Chuck around the cage like a rag doll.
Flame away? Why? Couture is a phenomenal fighter. What more does he have to prove that he can hang with any fighter in the world? His stand up is very solid now, his head movement is good, his greco roman is sick, let's face it.....the man is dangerous! :dunno:
It's not like it was an intentional headbutt and the fight continued. It's not something that has never happened before. Great win for Couture he dominated Gonzaga.
Gonzaga didn't complain about it right away. It was a while after it actually happened that he complained about not being able to see. They were back up on their feet by then. It would have been just like boxing anyway. He was cut on the nose and his nose was broken. He would have been deemed fit to continue anyway because cuts on the nose don't stop fights. He would have lost no matter what.
