I don’t know how I even feel about this at this point. Randy was one of my heroes until the stunt he pulled last year. Even when it happened I was 100% on his side, but the more details I read, the more I started to feel like he was being arrogant, whiney, and money-grubbing. I understand he’s 45 and wants to fight the best while he still can, but he should’ve made that clear when he signed on the dotted line.
I think he’ll get past Brock and Dana will get the Fedor fight, and Fedor will crush him. He’ll go on to do a few more direct-to-video movies and then write a tell-all book and settle into his second career as a coach.
Nogueira will beat Mir and get the vacated title after the Randy/Fedor fight. Mir will retire and become a full-time announcer/consultant. Eric “Otter” Stratton will go on to become a gynecologist in Beverly Hills.
This has to be near the top of the list of fights Dana White could have arranged. Of course, as some on the Sherdog boards have pointed out, it lets him have it both ways. If Randy wins, he still hasn’t beaten the UFC “interim” champion, and if he loses, the pressure to arrange Couture-Fedor drops right off. OTOH, if Randy completely schools Lesnar like I think he will, then Dana probably has to let him fight Noguiera, and I think that finishes his UFC contract, at which point there will be a race to arrange the Fedor fight.
You bet I’ll be watching this one. The only down side is that idjit Goldberg doing his overly dramatic announcing about it.
Actually I think he signed a new 3-fight deal :eek:. If he gets past Lesnar (and he probably will) I think they will try to make the Fedor fight early next year. Noguiera would be a very dangerous fight for him.
Randy’s skill is out of Lesnar’s universe, but he does have to be careful. He’s struggled with bigger, stronger guys before (Rico), and he’s gotta watch those ham hands. I thought his head movement got a little sloppy in the last couple rounds of the Sylvia fight, and you better believe Brock will be working on his striking and looking for the finish.
Does it seem to anyone else like Brock is getting a fight with Couture a little early? I guess Randy only has a couple left and one has to be Fedor if humanly possible, but it seems like Brock’s level jumping. On the other hand, I don’t know what other heavys he could fight offhand.
Yeah, it’s early. But Brock’s a cash cow. I think Dana waived a big carrot in front of Randy’s face: come fight Brock and I’ll give you a cut of the PPV. You’ll make 7 figures, easy, for no more than 25 minutes of work, and if you win I’ll do everything I can to make the Fedor fight.
As to who else Randy could fight . . . it’s traditional for the champ to fight the interim champ as soon as possible . . .
The UFC is notorious for hyping their fighters far beyond what they’re actually capable of. Dana White’s an absolute douchebag and of all the televised MMA leagues it’s by far my least favorite.
Lesnar has an advantage in size, strength, and athleticism. He prefers ground and pound but is really only effective because he’s huge - not because he’s good.
Couture has a few wins over lackluster heavyweights, creaky joints and his recent ‘comeback’ only highlights how weak the division is. Couture also seems to favor ground and pound and although he’s got undeniable heart and spirit, Lesnar is going to completely overpower him with sloppy, ugly, but massively heavy hammerfists.
Couture’s only real hope is to submit him - Lesnar had better learn to start defending leg locks.
And Fedor would/will obliterate both of them in the first round without breaking a sweat.
You must have missed the horrid spectacle that was EliteXC on CBS.
I thought the same thing about the Sylvia fight, though, and Couture just took him apart with effective evasion and counterpunching, much more effectively than I would have thought. Couture can hang with larger fighters, although Brock might be more overwheming than Tim was. I agree Couture’s best chance is probably submission.
Totally, and as much as I like Couture I’d love to see it happen. Even more so with Lesnar.
And which one would be your favorite? Because now that PrideFC is gone, the remaining non-UFC promotions are pretty pathetic. WEC is decent but it’s Zuffa-owned. Affliction put on a decent show but still put us to sleep with bad commentating and washed-up Megadeth.
If you’re just saying his greatest success hasn’t been at heavyweight, I’ll agree, but his career has not been lackluster. He beat Vitor Belfort, Pedro Rizzo, Tito Ortiz, and Chuck Liddell at their best. He literally bent Tito over and spanked him.
I think his best chance is to box him from the outside, be evasive, and defend the takedown.
The most trouble I’ve seen Fedor in so far( and I haven’t seen all his fights!) is against a very determined Mark Coleman, and he managed to turn that around in an instant. Brock or Couture will be good opponents, but I see them both getting beat.
WEC isn’t nearly as bad, in my opinion. I’ve heard less about their business practices so I can’t comment on that, but UFC is absolutely infamous. MMA lends itself towards seedy characters and subsequently, dealings - maybe it’s just part of the deal.
Couture’s boxing is indeed excellent but I don’t really think we should use Tim “I move like I’m powered with biodiesel” Silva as an example of exemplary standup. He might be able to survive and win on points, I agree - but I strongly dislike tactics geared towards judge’s wins - finishing is what really counts. They’re sports, sure, but they were fights first.
Nor do I dispute his legacy - I’m just saying he’s a lot less relevant in modern MMA than his level of hype would suggest.
For anybody who hasn’t really watched much of Fedor - I strongly encourage it. Once you’re seen a decent fraction of his fights you start to learn that not only is he the best fighter in the world, but it’s by a fair margin. I think elbows may be his downfall is he decides to fight more often - his only loss was a cut from an illegal elbow and his skin is known for its fragility. Not that anybody survives in his guard long enough to actually throw any elbows.
