In a battle between two MMA legends, former champions Randy Couture and Antonio Nogueira battled for three round at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. Both men traded heavy leather throughout the course of the bout, but in the end, it was the heavier hands and iron chin of Antonio Nogueira that earned him the victory at UFC 102.

Couture came out fast in the first round, landing some nice jabs and right hands. Nogueira landed some nice right hands of his own, but Couture appeared to be getting the better work done on the inside. Eventually, a big right hand from Nogueira would rock and drop Couture. Nogueira jumped on him immediately and tried to  lock in a deep arm triangle choke. Somehow, Couture managed to survive, escape and get the action back to the feet. Both men then traded heavy shots for the remainder of the round.

In the second round, Couture came out and landed some nice combinations. Nogueira attempted a guillotine choke, but Couture escaped again and got the takedown. After landing some nice elbows, Couture was swept by Nogueira, who easily positioned himself into full mount. Another arm triangle attempt by Nogueira looked as if the bout could be over, but again, somehow, Couture escaped and scrambled back to his feet. Although Couture was able to get a takedown and land a few shots, it was Nogueira who looked more in comfortable and in control on the ground.

The final round saw Couture come out fast again, landing a nice series of shots, but Nogueira weathered the storm and fired back with some heavy shots of his own. Another big right hand would drop Couture again and Nogueira jumped on him to finish the job. Although Couture admirably survived a flurry of shots, he was never able to get back into the fight as Nogueira controlled the remainder of the round on the ground.

After three rounds, the official scorecards were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28, all in favor for the winner by unanimous decision, Antonio Nogueira.

COMPLETE RESULTS:

  • Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Randy Coture via Unanimous Decision
  • Thiago Silva def. Keith Jardine via TKO in round 1
  • Nate Marquardt def. Demian Maia via TKO in round 1
  • Brandon Vera def. Kryzsztof Soszynski via Unanimous Decision
  • Jake Rosholt def. Chris Leben via Submission (arm triangle) in round 3
  • Aaron Simpson def. Ed Herman via TKO in round 2
  • Gabriel Gonzaga def. Chris Tuchscherer via TKO in round 1
  • Mike Russow def. Justin McCully via Unanimous Decision
  • Todd Duffee def. Tim Hague via KO in round 1 (UFC RECORD: 7 SECONDS)
  • Mark Munoz def. Nick Catone via Split Decision
    Evan Dunham def. Marcus Aurelio via Split Decision