The Rear Naked Column 08.19.09: Battle of the Icons (Part 1)
Posted by Samer Kadi on 08.19.2009
On the 29th of August 2009, two of the sport’s all time greats will lock horns as Randy “The Natural” Couture takes on Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira. From Nogueira’s epic battles with Bob Sapp and Heath Herring to Randy’s stunning upsets of Vitor Belfort and Chuck Liddell, the two have been responsible for some of the greatest moments in Mixed Martial Arts history. Join 411’s Samer Kadi as he looks back at some of the most memorable moments involving the two legends as “The Rear Naked Column” starts a two part preview of UFC 102's battle of the icons.
Welcome everyone to another edition of "The Rear Naked Column". UFC 102 is less than two weeks away and it promises to bring us what many consider a dream match, as former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy "The Natural" Couture takes on the only man to ever hold UFC and PRIDE gold, Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira.
Back in 2007 after the PRIDE buyout and Randy's inspirational return and subsequent title win, Fedor Vs Couture and Couture Vs Cro Cop were the fights mostly discussed among the hardcores. When it became evident the UFC wouldn't be able to sign the world's undisputed top heavyweight (sounds familiar?), all attention turned towards "the Croatian Sensation". Minotauro Nogueira became an afterthought. After Mirko's brutal knockout loss to Gabriel Gonzaga, fans lost their second dream match, and "Minotauro" became their only hope for that ever elusive PRIDE Vs UFC heavyweight battle.
Unfortunately, due to alleged "mistreatment" and the UFC's inability to sign Emelianenko, Randy Couture resigned from the company. Nogueira was pitted against former champion Tim Sylvia for the interim heavyweight title. In typical Minotauro fashion, Nog was able to withstand an early beating before making the inevitable comeback in the third round and finishing "The Maine-iac" with a guillotine choke. After the fight, Nogueira called out Couture and respectfully asked "The Natural" to make a comeback for a title unification bout. Randy decided to pass up on the opportunity and fans were robbed of their third dream match.
Eighteen months later, these two legends are finally squaring off. The fight has lost some of its luster, as both fighters are coming off defeats and lost their respective belts in the process, thus making the fight a three rounder. Instead of an epic battle to crown the UFC undisputed champion, we're getting a fight for relevancy. Make no mistake about it though, this is still a must see fight between two of the sport's greatest fighters ever. Between them, these men have won nine world titles, and that's only counting the major promotions (UFC and PRIDE).
Newer fans might not appreciate the magnitude of this fight, and that is largely due to their unfamiliarity with Nogueira. They remember him as the guy who got crushed by Frank Mir, almost got KO'd by Heath Herring, and "got lucky" against Tim Sylvia. I'm not here to list Minotauro's accomplishments, and I don't intend for this to serve as a career retrospective. If you're interested in learning more about Nogueira's career, accomplishments and overall MMA record then be sure to check out Bill Wannop's excellent article on the legendary Brazilian . And I'm certainly not here to list Randy's achievements in the sport, as I'm fairly certain anyone reading this article can recite them in a heart beat. This fight's significance doesn't only lie in the fact that two of the greatest heavyweights to ever grace the MMA world are finally going toe to toe. It also goes beyond potentially determining the number one contender to Brock Lesnar's title. This fight is about two fighters who throughout the course of their careers gave us something few fighters could ever recreate: moments.
Critics might call Nogueira washed up, and point out to the fact that he took too much damage during his glorious career to stay competitive in an ever improving heavyweight division dominated by behemoths like Brock Lesnar. Others will bring up Randy Couture's MMA record, a less than impressive 16-9, to point out his inconsistencies. You'll also hear that at 46 years of age, Randy just cannot continue to cheat the natural cycle of life and roll back the years. In my opinion, whether you agree with those statements or not, come August 29th, it simply does not matter. Because in their respective careers, these two icons have given us more "MMA moments" than most fighters combined.
Forget about Randy's titles in two different weight classes, and forget about Big Nog being the only man to ever hold titles in both PRIDE and the UFC. Instead, let's take a look back at some of the magical moments the pair has been able to produce.
In MMA, legit "mark out" moments (as pro wrestling fans like to call them) are few and far in between. The greatest of fighters can put on some of the most dominant and impressive displays, yet never have that inspirational, spine chilling Rocky Balboa moment. For all his brilliance, I wouldn't call Anderson Silva's destruction of his opponents "spine chilling". GSP's virtuosity in his last six outings is simply jaw dropping, but you likely will never see a movie dedicated to recreate his thrashing of BJ Penn or Jon Fitch. This is through no fault of their own, as these guys are a victim of their own invincibility, but it's just the way things work. Fans love an underdog story, and they love a fairytale comeback. Randy Couture and Minotauro Nogueira happen to be experts in both.
It is no coincidence they're considered two of the most beloved mixed martial artists in the world. Fans can relate to Randy Couture, just like they can relate to Minotauro. We could all admire the dominance of Fedor, the brutality of Anderson Silva, and the artistry of Georges St. Pierre, but few people see themselves in these once in a lifetime athletes. GSP is just a freak of nature, his athleticism is almost unmatched, and his skill set makes him the prototype modern mixed martial artist. Fedor's total dominance over the heavyweight division for years is unparalleled. His composure, calmness, and cerebral killer instinct allowed him to reach a godlike status among the hardcore fans. People are in awe of BJ Penn's natural talent. But there's something about Randy and Nog that turned them into the heroes they've become: Mind and heart.
Randy Couture wins fights with his mind, and Minotauro wins them with his heart. This is an admittedly overly simplified way of looking at things -after all, we can't ignore Couture's Greco Roman expertise or Nogueira's BJJ wizardry- but looking at the big picture, I believe this is a fairly accurate assessment. Randy's improbable conquests earned him the reputation of a master game planner. From his early career upset of Vitor Belfort to his now legendary five round beating of Tim Sylvia, Couture carefully studied his opponents' strengths and weaknesses and looked to exploit them. Continuously written off by fans and experts alike, Couture consistently proved his critics wrong, wowing them with dazzling yet unlikely performances. The phrase "never bet against Randy Couture" is used for a reason.
Like Couture, Nogueira simply can't be written off. While Randy has a habit of surprising everyone by dominating opponents few had given him a prayer against, Minotauro is notorious for snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. His chin, heart, endurance, and ability to withstand punishment are stuff of legend. While Couture can never be written off before a fight, Nogueira cannot be written off during the fight. No matter how gloomy things might look in combat, Nogueira is always a miracle away from winning the contest. While I always find it ridiculous when fighters claim to have "a bigger heart" than their opponents, I do believe Big Nog possesses one of the biggest hearts in MMA. His perseverance and never say die attitude have allowed him to come out victorious in fights he had no business of winning.
Going through both men's greatest career moments can't be given justice with only one article, but it is only fitting to look back at some of the memories provided to us by two bonafied legends in the sport.
In a fight to determine the first ever PRIDE heavyweight champion, Minotauro Nogueira defeated Heath Herring in what many label as one of the greatest heavyweight battles of all time. But his true career making performance had yet to be witnessed. When Nog steps inside the Octagon to take on Couture, it would mark the seven year anniversary of one of MMA's most memorable comebacks ever. On August 28th 2002, Nogueira took on an absolute beast of a man (excuse the pun) in Bob Sapp. After getting literally dropped on his head in the opening seconds of the fight in a genuinely frightening moment, things quickly went south for Nogueira as Sapp proceeded to lay an absolute beating on the Brazilian.
Taking a barrage of heavy leather and some truly violent ground and pound, it looked only a matter of time before the PRIDE heavyweight champion threw in the towel. But this was a man who survived being run over by a truck at the age of nine, he wasn't one to quit. He patiently waited for his chance as Sapp wore himself out by this near slaughter, until Minotauro finally managed to sweep and end up on top. Seconds later, Nogueira secured a fight ending armbar as the crowd erupted and commentators screamed in astonishment through the head sets: they had just witnessed one of the gutsiest and most courageous performances in the sport's young history.
Nogueira's second and in my opinion, most memorable comeback took place in November 2003 when he fought Croatian kickboxer Mirko Cro Cop. Widely regarded as one of the most feared strikers in MMA, Cro Cop also possessed supreme takedown defense. Many wondered how Nogueira could possibly pull it off. As long as the fight stayed on the feet, he virtually stood no chance. Mirko would frustrate Nogueira in the opening ten minutes by repeatedly stuffing takedown attempts, while peppering him with leg and body kicks. In the dying seconds of the first round, Cro Cop landed a trademark high kick to knock the Brazilian down before being saved by the bell. Things looked done and dusted for Minotauro, and commentators began to talk as though the fight was sealed. But by sheer willpower, Big Nog came out in the second round, scored with his first takedown of the fight and mounted Cro Cop in a matter of seconds. As Cro Cop looked to shake him off, Nogueira grabbed an arm to secure another wonderful comeback as the Croatian had no choice but to tap.
Nogueira's latest hurrah occurred in February 2008 when he fought Tim Sylvia for the UFC interim heavyweight title. The fight was a carbon copy of the Cro Cop fight, as Sylvia twice managed to drop Nogueira in the opening two rounds while avoiding all of his takedowns. Nogueira's heart and determination again came into play in the third round. In an absolutely beautiful sequence, Minotauro pulled guard, swept right into side control, and as Sylvia attempted to reverse, locked in a tight guillotine to become the first man to win championship gold in both PRIDE and the UFC.
Randy Couture is no stranger to miracles and big upsets himself. In fact he's the upset master, with perhaps his three most memorable ones coming at different stages of his UFC career. The first of which took place in only his third UFC fight as he took on Brazilain knockout machine Vitor Belfort. Belfort was the overwhelming favorite coming into the fight as he had blitzed through his previous UFC opponents in a matter of minutes. Couture had other plans though, as he dominated "The Phenom" with his superior wrestling and now infamous dirty boxing in the clinch, before finishing him off with signature ground and pound eight minutes into the fight.
In June 2003, Couture dropped to the light heavyweight division to take on Chuck Liddell for the UFC interim light heavyweight championship. Most people believed "The Natural" was brought in to lose to the rising superstar as Liddell was looking to establish himself as the UFC's poster boy. Once again, Randy Couture shocked the world by dominating Liddell from start to finish. Randy completely neutralized Chuck's game by taking away his angles, countering with straight punches and pushing the pace.
Randy took the fight to Liddell by forcing him up against the fence before eventually securing the first of many takedowns. In the third round, Randy managed to gain the mount position, and finished Chuck off with heavy ground and pound. This fight more than any other solidified Couture's image as the master of upsets, and debuted the now clichéd "never bet against Randy Couture" expression.
But Randy wasn't done. After going on to defeat Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort before getting twice knocked out by Liddell and choosing to retire, Couture decided to return to action in March 2007 to take on UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. People thought Randy was crazy, they hated on the UFC for this sort of match making, and many described Couture as the sport's next Ken Shamrock. After all, Couture had dropped to the light heavyweight division due to his struggles with larger opponents like Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez. Perhaps more so than any other time in his career, Randy Couture was a huge underdog. In fact, if you notice commentators Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg's pre-show analysis, they sounded genuinely concerned for Randy Couture's health (Rogan sounded particularly worried). People were expecting a similar outcome to Randy's fights with Chuck Liddell. Nobody, and I mean nobody could have predicted what followed. In what I consider the greatest moment in MMA history, Couture dropped Sylvia eight seconds into the fight with a huge overhand right, causing the biggest, most deafening crowd reaction I've ever heard in an MMA event.
From there, it was 25 minutes of pure magic, as "the Natural" dominated Sylvia in every aspect of the game. The crowd was going crazy as every second went by, eventually counting down the final ten seconds of the fight as time ran out and Randy Couture produced one of the most stunning and simply magical upsets in any sport, period.
That's it for this week, tune in next week as I break down the fight with an in depth look at each fighter's strengths, weaknesses, keys to the win and potential strategies. Please leave a comment below as your opinion is greatly appreciated.
