Widely considered as one of the best heavyweight fighters today, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira tasted his first defeat in the Octagon last weekend. Frank Mir, a heavy underdog, claimed the UFC interim title with a TKO stoppage over the former Pride heavyweight champion. “Yeah, really bad night tonight,†commented Nogueira to MMAWeekly.com about his performance. “Frank Mir was in great shape. He surprised me with stand-up. He threw a very strong uppercut in the first round. He moved better than me. “Everybody could see that I wasn’t a good fighter tonight. I didn’t fight well. I think I can fight much better than this.†Mir startled Nogueira with his improved striking and put his Brazilian counterpart on the mat in the first round. “He surprised me how good he was standing up, for sure,†explained Nogueira. “I thought he was going to try and bring the fight to the ground; I was going to fight standing up. It was a great fight for him though. “I’ve had better performances than this. I need to get into better shape. I have a few injuries coming into this fight; I hurt my left knee very bad. I couldn’t get there; the right shape. Every fight is a different story.†At the post-fight press conference, Nogueira was asked if he’d be interested in a possible fight with former champion Randy Couture. “For sure I would accept this fight. He’s a great fighter. He just lost his last match, but he’s still a legend in this sport. I would love to fight him. We’re both very experienced fighters and it would be a nice match.†Nogueira intends to return to his family in Brazil and take some time off before resuming his training. http://www.mma-id.com/NotoriusBIG/?m...3363&blid=1107
Randy will stop Nog if he is the same guy he was in the Mir fight. If he wasn't injured, he needs to retire right away. Nog was a zombie in the Mir fight.
This fight makes alot of sense for both of them. I bet it happens in '09 Isn't MMA crazy, just a couple of months ago, Nog was on everyones P4P list, was on a win streak, and now he is past it in the blink of an eye. But as I am sitting here typing this, I am thinking this isn't much different than any other sport.
Couture-Nog....the winner gets one more payday/beat-down and the loser quits for good......might as well make it a casket match
