By Neil Davidson
THE CANADIAN PRESS
PORTLAND, Ore. – The podium was all but empty Thursday at the UFC 102 pre-fight news conference. Instead of a string of fighters rubbing elbows, there were just two.
“Two heavyweight legends,” said UFC president Dana White. “Nogueira and Couture.” Randy (The Natural Couture) and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Former UFC and Pride champion, respectively.
“A lot of people have waiting a long time to see these two fight,” White continued.
Perhaps too long, although both men appear to defy time.
At 46, Couture (16-9) has a son who turned 27 Thursday – just six years younger than Nogueira. But the chiselled Couture looks a decade younger and has the smarts to pose problems for most opponents.
“An absolute freak of nature,” White said.
“He’s an amazing story in sports, period. Not just mixed martial arts or the UFC. . . . I think he deserves more coverage from all the mainstream (media) than he gets.”
Couture, a Portland native who has gone back in time by training at Team Quest this week, said he was still fighting out of love for the sport.
“I love the training and I love the competition,” he said. “It’s not really about titles and all that other stuff at this point.”
Nogueira, who beat a Who’s Who while campaigning in Japan for Pride, looks lean and ready in advance of the fight Saturday at the Rose Garden Arena.
“He looks better than I’ve seen him in a long time . . . He looks like the old Nog,” White said of Nogueira, who is 2-1 in the UFC and 31-5-1 overall.
The battle-scarred Brazilian is another fan favourite, beloved by hardcore fans for his Pride wars and appreciated by many fans for his gracious performance as coach on Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
“It’s the battle of the good guys,” said White.
“I don’t think this needs to be one of those trash-talking fights,” he added. “It’s two classy, respectable legends that are finally going to go at it.”
It’s also a battle between Couture, an elite wrestler with all-round skills, against Nogueira, perhaps the most accomplished heavyweight jiu-jitsu fighter in the world.
“Styles make fights and what makes this fight so interesting is Couture usually likes to get guys down on the ground and I don’t think he’s going to be too excited to get Nogueira on the ground,” White said. “He’s going to probably want to keep it on his feet and Nogueira’s good on his feet too.”
Saturday’s winner at the UFC 102 will be “in the mix” for the heavyweight title, the UFC boss suggested. Brock Lesnar defends his title against unbeaten Shane Carwin at UFC 106 in November.
White says the show has sold about 10,000 tickets so far.
