Monday, August 31, 2009

Randy Couture: Now With More Old!

Saturday night saw the unveiling of the newest version of Randy Couture: the "old man who's inspiring just by being in there". Yes, "The Natural" is a fighter able to get into the cage to give opponents a hard time and drive pay-per-view sales (hence the nice six-fight contract extension the UFC rewarded him for being 46-year-old and popular and an all-around swell dude), but he's no longer capable of beating the best. Not by a longshot. Is the multi-time champ worthy of another Octagon appearance? Sure. He could probably defeat a fair number of the scrubs out there. But thanks to his performances against Brock Lesnar and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Couture cannot be considered one the killer elite. Now, everything he does (like win) or doesn't do (like win) is overshadowed by the fact that he's the oldest guy in the cage. Randy Couture: now with more old!

Observations From My Couch: UFC 102

  • Brandon Vera won because of his vastly superior striking skills, but he also had the advantage over Krzysztof Soszynski because of his name. Seriously, who doesn't prefer saying "Vera" over "Soszynski"?
  • Who was that Jake Rosholt? He was a lot more exciting and capable than the one-dimensional Jake Rosholt we'd seen previously.
  • By the way he came in throwing kicks and got totally messed up by a single punch, you could tell Demian Maia is a fantastic jiu-jitsu guy.
  • Todd Duffee seems tough, but he needs to face someone who won't get knocked out by a jab.
  • Ed Herman: the next in a long line of TUFers who belong in the minor leagues.
  • How on Earth was Evan Dunham vs. Marcus Aurelio a split decision? That one wasn't even close.
  • It's time for the "Dean of Mean" to hang up the gloves and go back to academia.
  • Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira looked great - maybe the best ever. Randy Couture looked old - maybe the oldest ever.