Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will meet next in the Octagon, as both cleared weight Friday at the official weigh-ins for UFC 102 “Couture vs. Nogueira” inside the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore.
Couture, 46, who has won titles in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions, came in at 220 pounds. The bout will be Couture’s second three-round non-title tilt in 20 Octagon appearances. Couture lost the heavyweight title to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 last November via second-round TKO.
“This fight’s a long time coming,” said Couture of Nogueira. “It’s a great fight. He’s a tremendous opponent.”
Nogueira weighed in at 231 pounds for his fourth bout with the promotion. The 33-year-old Brazilian reigned as king of Pride Fighting Championships’ heavyweight division until the era of Fedor Emelianenko. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is also a former UFC interim heavyweight titleholder, having lost the belt to Frank Mir in a sluggish performance at UFC 92 last December.
“Tomorrow is the most important fight in my life,” said Nogueira. “You guys are going to see a different Nogueira than the last fight, for sure.”
UFC President Dana White indicated Thursday that a strong performance from either legend could earn them the next heavyweight title bid. Lesnar will defend his title for the first time against Shane Carwin at UFC 106 on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas.
In a featured light heavyweight bout, Jackson Academy-trained Keith Jardine weighed in at 205 pounds, while Brazilian opponent Thiago Silva was also 205 pounds.
Jardine returns following a unanimous decision loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 96 last March. Silva will also look to rebound from a first-round knockout loss to divisional leader Lyoto Machida at UFC 94 last January.
Also in the hunt for a title shot against 185-pound champion Anderson Silva, middleweights Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia both weighed in at 185 pounds.
In a light heavyweight bout to lead off the pay-per-view broadcast, Brandon Vera hit the scale at 205 pounds. His opponent, Krzysztof Soszynski, a veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter 8,” also came in at 205 pounds.
In addition, Jake Rossen live blogged the weigh-ins with his own brand of humor and analysis.
Click here for the UFC 102 weigh-in video.
UFC 102 Weigh-in Results:
Randy Couture (220) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (231)
Keith Jardine (205) vs. Thiago Silva (205)
Chris Leben (185) vs. Jake Rosholt (185)
Nate Marquardt (185) vs. Demian Maia (185)
Brandon Vera (205) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (205)
Gabriel Gonzaga (259) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (258)
Ed Herman (185.5) vs. Aaron Simpson (185)
Michael Russow (260) vs. Justin McCully (238)
Todd Duffee (251) vs. Tim Hague (263.5)
Mark Munoz (185.5) vs. Nick Catone (185.5)
Marcus Aurelio (156) vs. Evan Dunham (155)
