Some bullet points for Saturday’s UFC 102 card and their likely counters. And yes, this is more or less playing my own Devil’s advocate. Call a doctor.
There’s no striking in grappling -- similar to the no-crying-in-baseball-rule; punching Nogueira leaves Couture open for a different set of problems, as well as the additional 50 lbs. of horsepower than middleweight Souza.
Ed Herman and
Chael Sonnen get trapped with the regularity of tuna; Marquardt is light years beyond Maia’s previous conquests.
Nogueira is under constant pressure by heavyweights who can often end bouts with one blow: anyone -- even
Mark Hunt -- can get knocked out if the timing and force is right. (And Nogueira’s lights have never gone totally out.)
He’s only been blown out of the water twice in recent memory -- and spent most of his time defeating
Chuck Liddell,
Forrest Griffin, and
Brandon Vera, which is one of the most impressive victims list in the division.
I’ve got nothing. This is correct.