When asked about Nate Marquardt's post-fight comment regarding his ambition to rematch Anderson Silva, Ed Soares, Silva's manager, suggested Marquardt do battle with Dan Henderson to determine the next rightful contender. It was speculated that Marquardt/Maia would provide the next challenge for Silva, but Dana White said after praising Marquardt's KO of Maia that he had to "figure this thing out".  Some of White's hesitation may stem from Henderson's desire to fight at 205 unless he was getting a title shot at MW.  At the Fan Club "Q&A" session last week, Henderson made the following statement:

"If I don't get the title shot right now at 185 – [Silva] is the only guy I want to fight at 185 (pounds).  Beyond that, I would probably go up to 205 (pounds) if I don't fight Anderson at 185."  

Since losing to Silva, Henderson has defeated Rousimar Palhares, Rich Franklin (in a fight outside of the 185 lb. weight class), and Michael Bisping.  Nate Marquardt has impressively finished Jeremy Horn, Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia, and now Demian Maia- although three wins back he suffered an astoundingly odd and highly controversial split-decision loss to Thales Leites, where Marquardt received two point deductions immediately with no warning, while the referee gave Leites several warnings for blows to the back of the head.  Despite being two points down on the score cards, Marquardt still almost won the bout, so these unconventional point deductions were at the root of his loss as opposed to his performance.  Its always been my preference for the top guys to fight each other to determine contendership, so I would be thrilled to see this fight happen, and I'd also like to see Yushin Okami thrown into the mix to establish a specific pecking order for the belt. Source:  MMAJunkie.com

Randy Couture announced after his loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102 that he intended to squeeze six more fights out of his time-defying body.  The 46-year old Couture has committed to a six-fight deal in a twenty-eight month timeframe for the UFC, claiming he will finish his career there. Couture has recently shown interest in making the drop back down to the light-heavyweight division to take on the untouchable champion Lyoto Machida, and has also made mention of fighting Anderson Silva, so his fearless attitude and gravitation towards opponents at the top of MMA that has served as his signature style will surely lend itself to many more exciting match-ups for the fans. Although on the outs with the UFC and in the courtroom with them not too long ago, this solidifies their amicable present and future, and gives Couture the biggest and best outlet to keep amazing the MMA world with his respectable performances.

Gabriel Gonzaga got back into the winner's column with a spectacular TKO victory over Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 102 last night. He talks about the fight in this interview:

Nate Marquardt shocked many viewers last night and lived up to his nickname with his stunning 21 second knockout over fast rising Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Demian Maia. Here's Nate talking about the fight:

Todd Duffee made quite a splash last night at UFC 102. His debut in the Octagon resulted in a record breaking seven second KO over Tim Hague.

 

"My head says 'Fighter X', but my heart is with 'Fighter Y'".

When you analyze how you think an MMA fight will turn out, the standard custom is to break down the mechanics involved with the melee, illustrate each fighter's strengths, and try to estimate how these compare to one another while taking in a litany of other variables: such as size, skill, cardio, and past performances.

This is, of course, the Cliff's notes version of the process. This is not, however, the way MMA was ingrained into my life.

No matter how much I enjoy observing the way fluid footwork creates opportunities for technical striking, or how strategic ground technique leads to guard passes and submission opportunites... I love Mixed Martial Arts for the fighters and their individual performances. Some may have felt reverberations or some version of this when watching the rather random looking, skinny Brazilian wearing the "karate suit" in the early UFC's proceed to tear the limbs off each of his unfortunate adversaries.

A personal example for me was gritting my teeth through the Jerry Bohlander versus Scott Ferrozzo fight at UFC 8, wondering how a meek looking 200-pounder was going to survive against a 320 pound, barrel-chested caveman who was effortlessly manhandling the former, and seemingly doing so without serious effort.  After being ragdolled and pummeled for what seemed like an eternity, the wily Bohlander caused a scramble and somehow ended up in a dominant position with his arms snaked around the fleshy stump that was Scott Ferrozzo's neck, forcing a dramatic tapout in a very emotional come-from-behind victory.

Its those moments, when you burst off of your couch like a rocket from a launchpad, screeching like a schoolgirl and clapping like a cheerleader, that make MMA a part of your soul.

Although I had argued for years that Minotauro would beat Randy Couture, on account of his height combined with his solid boxing and his phenomenal BJJ bottom and top game, I predicted Randy Couture to win the fight based on recent showings--and did so with a very heavy heart.  Too many times in the past, I told myself after a fight that I was relying too much on what my heart was telling me, and that if I would have better studied certain aspects of a fighter's style or placed more importance on a particular past performance that I felt was relevant, I would have properly predicted the outcome.  Logic should outweigh emotion, right?

Last night, as both fighters were making their entrances for one of the most significant fights in the sport's history, something was... off for me.

Although I don't dislike Randy, Big Nog has always exemplified what I think MMA should be.  He's provided MMA fans with so many of those beautifully defining moments of class and athletic amazement that I actually felt guilty I was about to watch the fight thinking that Randy Couture would emerge victorious.  That thought in itself was already dulling the sheen and removing some of the glamour from what everyone knew was going to be a monumentally significant MMA collision.

"I don't give a shit about my prediction," I said aloud to the empty room with a suddenly overwhelming sense of conviction.  "Nog is going to win this fucking fight!"

And instead of solemnly waiting for that moment when my hopes were crushed by a thunderous takedown from Randy, where the action would stall and he would begin peppering Nog's face with short hammerfists and elbows, I clenched my fists and bit my lip, and had to cover my mouth in order to muffle my shrieks of excitement that would surely wake everyone in the house up if I hadn't, and I stood in front of the television and shadowboxed along with the action like a hyperactive kid watching his favorite Superman cartoon.

I wanted Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to win that fight with everything I had in my heart, and despite the mechanics, the analysis, or the fact that sometimes your fighter loses in these situations- that's what MMA is all about.  Its fighters like Nogueira and Couture, and what they inspire in you, that makes this the greatest sport in the world.

Randy fought tough but Big Nog was just too much for him last night.  In this video, the 46 year old warrior talks about the fight.