Who wins the UFC the ufc hw tournament
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Breaking down the UFC heavyweight tourney
By Dave Meltzer, Yahoo! Sports
Two mixed martial arts legends and two fighters whose paths intertwined for a very important 90 seconds, will be competing over the next several months in what comprises the biggest heavyweight MMA tournament ever in North America.
At stake is the UFC heavyweight championship, which has been a matter of confusion over the past year.
Randy Couture was champion when he left the promotion last October over a money dispute. In his absence, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Tim Sylvia on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas to win what was billed as the interim title.
All UFC contracts have a championship clause, which ties the fighter with the company as long as they hold a company title unless they retire as champion. The clause is designed to prevent what has happened many times in the past, with a champion using the belt as leverage and threatening to leave.
When Couture and UFC were tied up in court, UFC never stripped Couture of the title, only because as long as he was technically champion, it strengthened UFC’s case.
It’s rare that a court case with a top fighter ends up benefiting the company in the long run, but this time UFC was dealt almost the perfect hand in revitalizing a heavyweight division that had little interest since Couture quit.
Under normal circumstances, a promotion would immediately match up a returning champion with an interim champ.
But not so fast. UFC had filmed a season of The Ultimate Fighter all summer with Nogueira coaching against Frank Mir, building to a Dec. 27 interim title match. This left Couture with no opponent. From a pure business standpoint, a Brock Lesnar vs. Couture match, title or not looked to be one of the most marketable fights in company history. UFC is promoting it with the idea it will be the biggest-money event in history, complete with a Spike TV’s first fighting miniseries ala HBO’s De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7.
A breakdown of the first two matches in the four-man tourney:
Randy Couture (16-8) vs. Brock Lesnar (2-1): Couture, 45, will be the crowd favorite no matter who he faces in the tournament, and even more so against Lesnar, who makes a great villain to MMA fans because he gained his fame as a pro wrestler.
With five title reigns, three as a heavyweight and two as a light heavyweight, Couture has captured more major titles than anyone in the history of the sport. More remarkably, three of those title wins came after the age of 39, a legacy that is not likely to be equaled for a long time. There is an axiom, that no matter what the odds are, when Couture is the underdog, you don’t bet against him. He’s been the ‘dog 10 times in his UFC career, winning nine of them, eight of which were championship matches.
Currently, he’s a slight Vegas favorite over Lesnar, 31, in a match where fans seem split down the middle. Couture was counted out as too old and too small on March 3, 2007, when he slayed his last giant in Sylvia, but in that case, Couture was a far superior wrestler, an edge he won’t have here.
Others will point to Couture’s losses against bigger wrestlers like Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez, but those fights were also six years ago.
Couture is the master of the game plan. Lesnar will go into the cage with about a 55-pound weight advantage. Couture expects to come in at 225 and Lesnar will be right at the 265-pound heavyweight limit the day before when he weighs in, but Lesnar will be cutting to make weight and by the next day should be at about 280.
What we do know is Lesnar is not only much bigger and much younger, but he’s also much stronger and faster. Given the size and age differential, at this stage of the game he should be the better wrestler, at least early in the match. Couture’s edge in all but one of his upsets was his superior wrestling skill. Couture is experienced under pressure, and Lesnar, whose total ring time is less than 18 minutes in three fights, isn’t.
We don’t know is anything about Lesnar’s stand-up game other than he hits hard. He knocked Heath Herring head-over-heels with a punch, decked Mir with a jab, and knocked Kim Min-soo out with only a few punches on the ground. It’s doubtful he’s got Couture footwork, head movement or overall boxing skill. But if Couture can’t stop Lesnar’s takedown, that’s immaterial. We still don’t know if Lesnar can take a punch or how he reacts to adversity. Couture is not a knockout artist and while he’ll have the skill edge, Lesnar undoubtedly hits harder.
A key is likely conditioning and whether or not Lesnar makes a mental error, as he did against Mir in a match he dominated until getting caught with a kneebar in 90 seconds.
Lesnar didn’t get tired in 15 minutes dominating Heath Herring. In his college days at the University of Minnesota, he was known for being one of the best conditioned heavyweights around. But this is 25 minutes, and Couture, when it comes to takedown defense, is in a completely different stratosphere than Herring.
Even if Lesnar can take Couture down early, it’s going to be harder and cause him to expend more energy. But even if Couture comes in better shape, he’s going to be pushing 280 and Lesnar is going to be pushing 225, and that makes a world of difference in the late rounds.
But the 25 minutes favors Couture. I expect Lesnar to win the early rounds, unless he makes an early mistake, in which case it’ll be over.
Lesnar has to avoid that mistake for 25 minutes, and win the late rounds conditioning battle. Couture needs to defend the early takedowns and expend a lot less energy than Lesnar, and use movement standing to take Lesnar out of his game, which will likely cause him to tire more quickly.
If not, he needs to weather the storm on the bottom and pray Lesnar tires first.
While some dismiss this fight as one of the great MMA fighters in history against a manufactured pro wrestling star, the most interesting thing is the vast majority of fighters I’ve spoken with favor Lesnar.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) vs. Frank Mir (11-3): UFC is billing this fight as the two best submission heavyweights in the history of UFC.
While there have been higher level sport Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters in UFC, the statement is accurate far as it relates to heavyweights using submissions within a fight.
On paper, this fight favors former PRIDE heavyweight champion Nogueira, and if he’s still at his peak at the age of 32, he should be the favorite in the tournament. He’s been in with better guys and beaten better guys than Mir has ever faced. Nogueira can make a strong claim to being the second best heavyweight in the history of the sport behind only Fedor Emelianenko. Mir, whose personal fighting idol is Nogueira, is really only in this fight because he took advantage of Lesnar’s inexperience in a fight that he got hammered in early, but had so many eyeballs watching that he made himself a star once again.
Nogueira has never been finished, either by knockout or submission, and is legendary for his ability to take punishment. Mir has explosive submissions, but Nogueira may be the best MMA submission heavyweight there has ever been. Mir’s stamina is unproven. He’s faded by round two whenever he was taken there. Nogueira’s isn’t. Mir did answer some questions about not mentally quitting under fire in the Lesnar fight, but when it comes to heart under adversity, nobody tops Nogueira.
The main question regarding Nogueira is the amount of punishment he has taken of the years. He appeared to have slowed down his reflexes and reaction time in his title win over Sylvia. Mir, 29, probably needs to take advantage of this early.
The finals: If Couture’s age doesn’t betray him against Lesnar, and he faces Mir, it’s likely not to betray him there either, as he’ll have superior wrestling, cardio and boxing on his side.
If Lesnar can get past Couture, then he deserves to be a champion and would no doubt be gunning for Mir. Mir, being better on his back than Couture, would pose different problems, and a rematch would likely depend on Lesnar’s learning curve. A Lesnar who doesn’t fall prey to an early submission beats Mir handily. But that’s a big if.
Couture vs. Nogueira is a dream match of two guys who are both likely at the tail ends of great careers, and will at that point be for the mythical rung of second-greatest heavyweight in history. Nogueira would be favored, but if he can’t submit Couture, he most likely would lose on a decision as Couture would take advantage of his clinch work.
Nogueira vs. Lesnar favors Nogueira as well, particularly since 25 minutes gives him more time to find an opening. But if Lesnar can survive Nogueira, he’ll have proven he learned from his mistake with Mir
By Dave Meltzer, Yahoo! Sports
Two mixed martial arts legends and two fighters whose paths intertwined for a very important 90 seconds, will be competing over the next several months in what comprises the biggest heavyweight MMA tournament ever in North America.
At stake is the UFC heavyweight championship, which has been a matter of confusion over the past year.
Randy Couture was champion when he left the promotion last October over a money dispute. In his absence, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Tim Sylvia on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas to win what was billed as the interim title.
All UFC contracts have a championship clause, which ties the fighter with the company as long as they hold a company title unless they retire as champion. The clause is designed to prevent what has happened many times in the past, with a champion using the belt as leverage and threatening to leave.
When Couture and UFC were tied up in court, UFC never stripped Couture of the title, only because as long as he was technically champion, it strengthened UFC’s case.
It’s rare that a court case with a top fighter ends up benefiting the company in the long run, but this time UFC was dealt almost the perfect hand in revitalizing a heavyweight division that had little interest since Couture quit.
Under normal circumstances, a promotion would immediately match up a returning champion with an interim champ.
But not so fast. UFC had filmed a season of The Ultimate Fighter all summer with Nogueira coaching against Frank Mir, building to a Dec. 27 interim title match. This left Couture with no opponent. From a pure business standpoint, a Brock Lesnar vs. Couture match, title or not looked to be one of the most marketable fights in company history. UFC is promoting it with the idea it will be the biggest-money event in history, complete with a Spike TV’s first fighting miniseries ala HBO’s De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7.
A breakdown of the first two matches in the four-man tourney:
Randy Couture (16-8) vs. Brock Lesnar (2-1): Couture, 45, will be the crowd favorite no matter who he faces in the tournament, and even more so against Lesnar, who makes a great villain to MMA fans because he gained his fame as a pro wrestler.
With five title reigns, three as a heavyweight and two as a light heavyweight, Couture has captured more major titles than anyone in the history of the sport. More remarkably, three of those title wins came after the age of 39, a legacy that is not likely to be equaled for a long time. There is an axiom, that no matter what the odds are, when Couture is the underdog, you don’t bet against him. He’s been the ‘dog 10 times in his UFC career, winning nine of them, eight of which were championship matches.
Currently, he’s a slight Vegas favorite over Lesnar, 31, in a match where fans seem split down the middle. Couture was counted out as too old and too small on March 3, 2007, when he slayed his last giant in Sylvia, but in that case, Couture was a far superior wrestler, an edge he won’t have here.
Others will point to Couture’s losses against bigger wrestlers like Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez, but those fights were also six years ago.
Couture is the master of the game plan. Lesnar will go into the cage with about a 55-pound weight advantage. Couture expects to come in at 225 and Lesnar will be right at the 265-pound heavyweight limit the day before when he weighs in, but Lesnar will be cutting to make weight and by the next day should be at about 280.
What we do know is Lesnar is not only much bigger and much younger, but he’s also much stronger and faster. Given the size and age differential, at this stage of the game he should be the better wrestler, at least early in the match. Couture’s edge in all but one of his upsets was his superior wrestling skill. Couture is experienced under pressure, and Lesnar, whose total ring time is less than 18 minutes in three fights, isn’t.
We don’t know is anything about Lesnar’s stand-up game other than he hits hard. He knocked Heath Herring head-over-heels with a punch, decked Mir with a jab, and knocked Kim Min-soo out with only a few punches on the ground. It’s doubtful he’s got Couture footwork, head movement or overall boxing skill. But if Couture can’t stop Lesnar’s takedown, that’s immaterial. We still don’t know if Lesnar can take a punch or how he reacts to adversity. Couture is not a knockout artist and while he’ll have the skill edge, Lesnar undoubtedly hits harder.
A key is likely conditioning and whether or not Lesnar makes a mental error, as he did against Mir in a match he dominated until getting caught with a kneebar in 90 seconds.
Lesnar didn’t get tired in 15 minutes dominating Heath Herring. In his college days at the University of Minnesota, he was known for being one of the best conditioned heavyweights around. But this is 25 minutes, and Couture, when it comes to takedown defense, is in a completely different stratosphere than Herring.
Even if Lesnar can take Couture down early, it’s going to be harder and cause him to expend more energy. But even if Couture comes in better shape, he’s going to be pushing 280 and Lesnar is going to be pushing 225, and that makes a world of difference in the late rounds.
But the 25 minutes favors Couture. I expect Lesnar to win the early rounds, unless he makes an early mistake, in which case it’ll be over.
Lesnar has to avoid that mistake for 25 minutes, and win the late rounds conditioning battle. Couture needs to defend the early takedowns and expend a lot less energy than Lesnar, and use movement standing to take Lesnar out of his game, which will likely cause him to tire more quickly.
If not, he needs to weather the storm on the bottom and pray Lesnar tires first.
While some dismiss this fight as one of the great MMA fighters in history against a manufactured pro wrestling star, the most interesting thing is the vast majority of fighters I’ve spoken with favor Lesnar.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) vs. Frank Mir (11-3): UFC is billing this fight as the two best submission heavyweights in the history of UFC.
While there have been higher level sport Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters in UFC, the statement is accurate far as it relates to heavyweights using submissions within a fight.
On paper, this fight favors former PRIDE heavyweight champion Nogueira, and if he’s still at his peak at the age of 32, he should be the favorite in the tournament. He’s been in with better guys and beaten better guys than Mir has ever faced. Nogueira can make a strong claim to being the second best heavyweight in the history of the sport behind only Fedor Emelianenko. Mir, whose personal fighting idol is Nogueira, is really only in this fight because he took advantage of Lesnar’s inexperience in a fight that he got hammered in early, but had so many eyeballs watching that he made himself a star once again.
Nogueira has never been finished, either by knockout or submission, and is legendary for his ability to take punishment. Mir has explosive submissions, but Nogueira may be the best MMA submission heavyweight there has ever been. Mir’s stamina is unproven. He’s faded by round two whenever he was taken there. Nogueira’s isn’t. Mir did answer some questions about not mentally quitting under fire in the Lesnar fight, but when it comes to heart under adversity, nobody tops Nogueira.
The main question regarding Nogueira is the amount of punishment he has taken of the years. He appeared to have slowed down his reflexes and reaction time in his title win over Sylvia. Mir, 29, probably needs to take advantage of this early.
The finals: If Couture’s age doesn’t betray him against Lesnar, and he faces Mir, it’s likely not to betray him there either, as he’ll have superior wrestling, cardio and boxing on his side.
If Lesnar can get past Couture, then he deserves to be a champion and would no doubt be gunning for Mir. Mir, being better on his back than Couture, would pose different problems, and a rematch would likely depend on Lesnar’s learning curve. A Lesnar who doesn’t fall prey to an early submission beats Mir handily. But that’s a big if.
Couture vs. Nogueira is a dream match of two guys who are both likely at the tail ends of great careers, and will at that point be for the mythical rung of second-greatest heavyweight in history. Nogueira would be favored, but if he can’t submit Couture, he most likely would lose on a decision as Couture would take advantage of his clinch work.
Nogueira vs. Lesnar favors Nogueira as well, particularly since 25 minutes gives him more time to find an opening. But if Lesnar can survive Nogueira, he’ll have proven he learned from his mistake with Mir
"Minotauro" Nogueira eyes UFC title unification bout with Randy Couture
by John Morgan on Sep 13, 2008 at 5:30 pm ET
Despite currently holding UFC gold, interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira believes he's still two fights away from being the true world champion.
And as Nogueira recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), he wants to go through Randy Couture to get there.
"When I fought against (Tim) Sylvia, I was thinking about being the world champion," Nogueira said of his UFC 81 interim title bout. "And I made it.
"Randy Couture came back, and he has the title, too. I think I have to fight against him, and whoever wins is going to be the real world champion of the UFC."
Couture will first have to get past his UFC 91 battle with WWE-import Brock Lesnar. Although Lesnar will enjoy a 40-pound weight advantage in the bout, Nogueira feels confident that Couture will prevail.
"I think Randy Couture is going to win the fight," Nogueira said. "That's my opinion. He's much more experienced. He's got a big history as a fighter."
Nogueira must also do his part by winning a year-end battle with fellow "The Ultimate Fighter" coach Frank Mir.
Nogueira said he has a special respect for Mir. In addition to being world-class jiu-jitsu players, the two share a common bond of battling back from life-threatening automobile injuries to attain MMA success.
Nogueira's accident was during his childhood in Brazil, while Mir's took place in 2004 at the height if his UFC career.
"I've got respect for this kid," Nogueira said of Mir. "He has come back from a very hard accident before, same as me. So he's kind of a special guy. I've got a lot of respect for that.
"He's got a lot of toughness. He came back from the accident, and he's still a fighter. That injury to his leg, and now he's one of the four best heavyweight fighters in the world. I've got a lot of respect for him for that. I had a hard time with the accident, too. That made me tough, and it made me stronger after the accident."
Respect aside, Nogueira is confident he has the upper hand in his matchup with Mir.
"I think I've got better stand-up than Frank Mir," Nogueira said. "We are jiu-jitsu guys with other skills too. He's got good wrestling. He's got good Muay-Thai. He's got some kicks.
"But I think I've got better hands. I'm much more experienced than him. I've faced a lot of better guys, and I think that is going to make the difference when we step into the ring. I also think I've got better endurance than him. I'm going to use that in the cage when I fight him."
And if Nogueira is able to deliver a victory, he promises even more in a potential bout with Couture.
"I'm a fighter," Nogueira said. "I became a fighter to fight the best guys in the world. People who know me know that I love a challenge.
"Randy Couture just came back to the UFC, so it's good for the UFC promotion. He's got a good name. He's a tough guy. I was already set to fight against Frank Mir because of ["The Ultimate Fighter"], and he's going to be a good opponent, too. So it's one more challenge in my life.
"I've got to fight Frank Mir. I'm thinking about Frank Mir right now. After the fight I will think about Randy Couture. I would love to fight this guy.
"If we win, we're going to have one of the best fights the UFC has ever seen before
by John Morgan on Sep 13, 2008 at 5:30 pm ET
Despite currently holding UFC gold, interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira believes he's still two fights away from being the true world champion.
And as Nogueira recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), he wants to go through Randy Couture to get there.
"When I fought against (Tim) Sylvia, I was thinking about being the world champion," Nogueira said of his UFC 81 interim title bout. "And I made it.
"Randy Couture came back, and he has the title, too. I think I have to fight against him, and whoever wins is going to be the real world champion of the UFC."
Couture will first have to get past his UFC 91 battle with WWE-import Brock Lesnar. Although Lesnar will enjoy a 40-pound weight advantage in the bout, Nogueira feels confident that Couture will prevail.
"I think Randy Couture is going to win the fight," Nogueira said. "That's my opinion. He's much more experienced. He's got a big history as a fighter."
Nogueira must also do his part by winning a year-end battle with fellow "The Ultimate Fighter" coach Frank Mir.
Nogueira said he has a special respect for Mir. In addition to being world-class jiu-jitsu players, the two share a common bond of battling back from life-threatening automobile injuries to attain MMA success.
Nogueira's accident was during his childhood in Brazil, while Mir's took place in 2004 at the height if his UFC career.
"I've got respect for this kid," Nogueira said of Mir. "He has come back from a very hard accident before, same as me. So he's kind of a special guy. I've got a lot of respect for that.
"He's got a lot of toughness. He came back from the accident, and he's still a fighter. That injury to his leg, and now he's one of the four best heavyweight fighters in the world. I've got a lot of respect for him for that. I had a hard time with the accident, too. That made me tough, and it made me stronger after the accident."
Respect aside, Nogueira is confident he has the upper hand in his matchup with Mir.
"I think I've got better stand-up than Frank Mir," Nogueira said. "We are jiu-jitsu guys with other skills too. He's got good wrestling. He's got good Muay-Thai. He's got some kicks.
"But I think I've got better hands. I'm much more experienced than him. I've faced a lot of better guys, and I think that is going to make the difference when we step into the ring. I also think I've got better endurance than him. I'm going to use that in the cage when I fight him."
And if Nogueira is able to deliver a victory, he promises even more in a potential bout with Couture.
"I'm a fighter," Nogueira said. "I became a fighter to fight the best guys in the world. People who know me know that I love a challenge.
"Randy Couture just came back to the UFC, so it's good for the UFC promotion. He's got a good name. He's a tough guy. I was already set to fight against Frank Mir because of ["The Ultimate Fighter"], and he's going to be a good opponent, too. So it's one more challenge in my life.
"I've got to fight Frank Mir. I'm thinking about Frank Mir right now. After the fight I will think about Randy Couture. I would love to fight this guy.
"If we win, we're going to have one of the best fights the UFC has ever seen before
Q&A: Mir talks TUF, Nogueira
Q&A: Mir talks TUF, Nogueira
Fomer heavyweight champion Frank Mir has appeared on TV many times as a fighter and broadcaster, but Wednesday's season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter will mark his on-screen debut as a coach.
"I'm kind of a perfectionist and there's a lot of mistakes that I made," Mir told me this week. "The first time through, you're kind of learning as you're going on the show. ... If I had another opporutnity to do it, I'd take it in a heartbeat because I feel I could even better the second time around."
If nothing else, the reality TV program's eighth season could serve as an introduction to a wider audience for Mir, who won the Ultimate Fighting Championship's heavyweight title in the organization's pre-TUF days. UFC officials expect his stint as a coach on the show to provide an extended build-up for Mir's fight in December with interim champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who coached against Mir on the program.
Frank Mir, left, submitted Brock Lesnar in February. Zuffa
It's been a lengthy trip back to prominence for Mir, who was badly injured by a motorcycle accident in September 2004, almost three months after he broke Tim Sylvia's arm to win UFC's heavyweight belt. His recovery took so long that UFC decided to strip him of the championship in 2005, and by the time Mir returned to competition in February 2006, the MMA landscape had changed drastically; UFC was well on its way to becoming the world's top MMA promoter and Mir was forced to climb the ladder again.
NOGUEIRA-MIR: Mutual respect
After losing two of his first three fights back, Mir won two in a row, most recently in February against fast-rising star Brock Lesnar, whom Mir submitted with a kneebar barely a minute and a half into their bout after surviving an early Lesnar ground-and-pound assault. That win was enough to convince UFC to match Mir against Nogueira, first as Ultimate Fighter coaches of opposite teams, then in a title match scheduled for December.
I spoke to Mir on Monday about the TV show, Nogueira and newly returned heavyweight champion Randy Couture. Excerpts from the Mir interview:
Q: What's the difference between how you coached in The Ultimate Fighter's artificial environment and how you would do it in the real world?
Mir: They're in a home for six weeks, sleeping sometimes in the same room as an opponent that they're going to have, eating breakfast with the guy they're going to fight. They have no outside condolences; they don't have a wife they can talk to; they can't play video games and read a book, to calm down and relax; they're not listening to music; they're not able to do anything besides go and train and be each other's own stimulation, and that's very difficult.
So we're dealing with problems when I'm coaching these guys, that you're almost part counselor and part coach, because you're trying to maintain some kind of sanity and focus that wouldn't be issues if these guys were just in a camp and training with each other, and we were getting ready for a fight, and had to just show up and see your opponent there.
These guys are on go mode 24 hours. They train alongside each other. Then they go home, they're in the kitchen with each other; they don't have anybody to talk to and calm them down. It's a very difficult scenario.
Do you think being on the edge all the time like that helpd them as fighters, or did it detract from their ability fight?
I think it does detract from their ability to fight because they're not just focused on the fight now. There's all kinds of other things going on.
Some people are under the misconception that, oh, they're in the house, and they're more focused, and they're surrounded and they're training and they're (on) a strict regimen.
No, guys. People train very strict when they're home, and they get to train in their own gym and train with their own coach. ... There's no release valve. It's on their head, it's on their mind; there's no relaxation.
If you're successful and move on to the finals, you would have fought three times in six weeks. It makes them fall short of their ability.
For one, they don't have their normal surroundings. ... They're thrust into a weird environment with cameras on them, and with most guys it's the first time they've had any kind of exposure. The stakes are that much higher, so typically, as most humans do under that kind of stress, they tend to degrade. Very few people can rise to the occasion under all that turmoil.
When I talked to Jon Fitch last month before his fight with Georges St. Pierre...
That's so funny you bring him up, because I used him as an example today. In a previous interview, I said that Jon Fitch is a great example of somebody, that if he had done the show, he would have been in a title shot in 6 months. And because he fought without the show, he didn't get as much exposure and he had to fight eight times (in UFC) before he got a title shot.
Fitch told me that he felt that being cut from the cast before the show started ultimately helped him because he developed better at a fighter, and at a better pace, so that when he did get a title shot, he was much better prepared. How much validity do you see in that view?
Oh yeah. I think there's validity to the fact that he got to work over a process of fighting every 3 to 4 months, maybe 6 months in between. he's building himself up and he became a much (more) formidable opponent.
That's one disadvantage, of being thrust, like I said, into the house, is that immediately you are a star when you exit that house. You have a tag on you when you're walking around that you're somebody that people want to take out now. Whereas if you're not coming from that background, you're not the guy, you don't have the sign on your back that says, "I am the one."
You can see with all the fighters — when they first come out, people are gunning after them, to beat the guy who won The Ultimate Fighter show to prove they could have won the show.
What are the differences between your approach to coaching and Nogueira's?
I can't tell you until I watch the season, obviously, about how he did it. But from what I heard from what the other guys were talking about, their training practices were a little more strict as far as, "This is what has to be done today, this is what you're going to do."
And then even when the fight selections came up, from what I understand -- again, I'm just going off from what I feel off of what the other guys are telling me — they were told who they were going to fight. The coaches made all the decisions.
Whereas how I approached it on my team. ... everything was more of a discussion. Almost like if we were a football team and I'm team captain: I'm not above you, and I'm not better than you and I don't really necessarily know more than you know. It's just that, we all can sit here and talk, but when it comes down to it, you need a point man who's going to be the one who's going to give the final yes or no, and so that's how I looked at that.
But if everybody's in concurrence with a certain idea, then that's where we're going with it. if everybody agrees that our Fighter A is the best guy to beat their Fighter A, then you know what? Tell me why you think so and boom, that's what's happening, regardless of what I think.
How much of the difference do you think stems from cultural background? Nogueira comes from that traditional Brazilian martial arts background. From what I understand, some of the camps down there can be pretty strict.
I've gotten that impression sometimes from some of the other people I've trained with that came from Brazil: "Dont ask any questions, just do what I say. You dont need to understand why; I've been doing this for so long, I know why."
I don't know, I guess the way I was raised and the way I prefer to do things, I don't mind doing anything. I respect what people have to say, but I think it's so much better if you tell me why. ... If you really have faith and trust in what you're telling me to do, and you really understand it, then you should have no problems explaining it to me.
You haven't fought that many times in the last few years. How often would you like to fight?
I think fighting every six months is a good thing if that's how it plays out. Whenever you're at the top level, it seems like fighters will fight, maybe two fights real close to each other sometimes because you'll have one that just kind of leads into another. And then there's long layoffs that you have that just seem to be inevitable, because of the popularity of our sport, we have so many guys.
All of a sudden, BJ Penn will fight twice. He'll fight real quick and then all of a sudden, you won't see him for a year. That's just the way it is.
Now, Anderson Silva's being showcased; he's fighting a lot. And then all of a sudden, Anderson Silva will rotate through and you'll see GSP.
It's just real difficult now to get a lot of fights because you have so many guys. Who gets bounced out of a card? You can only have so many fights in a night, you know?
That said, do you think there is room to just put on more cards to showcase these guys?
Yeah, I think now that the sport's growing. But the only problem is, how much is the fan base going to keep paying $49 or $39 to watch all these fights? At a certain point, you've got to have that supply and demand thing going.
You want to have a card and you want to stack it with several good fights, but if you spread it out too much, even if the cards are worth it — but if they're every weekend, you get to the point where it's like, okay, you're spreading yourself thin.
Unless they start doing a lot of things on, say if you got a hold of an HBO-type scenario, where you can have it all the time and people aren't paying pay-per-view every fight, except for maybe on special opportunities.
You're the commentator for World Extreme Cagefighting, which basically revolves around being on the Versus channel. Do you think that is a viable for the rest of the MMA industry?
I think so. I don't understand why it hasn't gone that route. I think maybe boxing sometimes stalls it out in some aspects. Showtime, obviously, has picked up their show. But I think it should go that way. I think that the free TV, or cable TV, is just the way to go.
I think it's difficult to constitute all these pay-per-views. Obviously you're going to have them, but I think it'll almost kind of like go towards the model you have for boxing, how you have boxing matches on HBO, but whenever you have a huge fight, a Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson, boom, now you have it on pay-per-view for the first week, but then after that week, you can see it on HBO.
Let's talk about your own upcoming fight. Do you expect to go to the ground with Nogueira?
Yeah, I find it inevitable. Both our tendencies are that way.
Realistically in a fight, Nogueira and myself, both our tendencies are to go to the ground. So regardless of who thinks is better than who, even if he's getting the better of me in standup, or if I'm getting the better of him in standup, I guarantee you that we're both going to engage on the ground. Both of us look to finish fights there.
How would you describe the difference between your approach to jiu-jitsu versus his?
Nogueira catches you a lot of times when you make mistakes. He doesn't force a lot of mistakes.
I force things to happen. I create opportunities because I explode and I move around and look a little bit more offensively.
He's more like a spider; he sits there and waits. Like you've seen when he fought Tim Sylvia, he's moving around (and) moving around; he's not getting killed, but he's not necessarily imposing his will. And then the first time Tim made a mistake, he capitalizes and wins.
How many submissions did I go for, even in the short fight with Lesnar? I went for two different armbars; I went for a shoulderlock; and then I flipped over and went for the leglock. It was three different submission attempts and then I finally caught one. I wasn't just waiting for Lesnar to tire out and make a mistake; even before he made a mistake, I had already made a submission attempt.
The last aggressive submission guy that Nogueira fought was probably Josh Barnett. Do you take those two fights he had with Josh as something you can learn from?
Yeah, definitely. Funny you say that, because I do use that as a role model for how to try to defeat Nogueira.
Fedor (Emelianenko, who beat Nogueira twice) does a lot of things, but he's such a physical specimen of an athlete that sometimes there's things that he does that other fighters just can't do. You can't mimic it. You can't say, "Well, he did it, I'm going to do it." No, dude, that's him. You know what I mean? He pulls that off.
Whereas Barnett is not a freak of nature of an athlete. He's just a very skilled martial artist and uses a lot of great techniques, so you can pull from that and say, "Well, you know, if that's what he did, I can do the same thing."
The last time anyone has tapped Nogueira in any situation was when Ricco Rodriguez caught him with a kneebar (at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club grappling championships in 2000). And Barnett pretty much did catch him with one also in their first fight (at the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix 2006 semifinal), but time ran out. How much of a vulnerability do you see there?
I think that if I was to submit Nogueira, it would be with a leglock or a footlock before it would be with an armbar or choke. Those are a little bit more difficult submissions to set up, whereas you can fall asleep and get caught in a leglock.
In the other big UFC heavyweight fight coming up, Randy Couture takes on Brock Lesnar. You fought Brock. How do you think Randy should approach him?
Randy just needs to be patient. Brock is an extraordinarily powerful guy, (but) if Randy just waits for the opportunity, he can seal the deal. I think Randy's a very savvy fighter.
Lesnar has a lot of potential; eventually he'll be a very good fighter in MMA. I just think that right now, Randy can capitalize on the fact that he's going to be much more experienced in the striking and the submission ranges of our art.
So I think that (Couture can succeed) if he just sits there on his feet and looks for shots to land, and stays safe from being taken down and smothered. And at the same time when on the ground, he looks for opportunities to submit Lesnar.
After your fight against Brock, you said you were surprised by his speed.
Yes, his quickness was very shocking.
How much can Randy can do about that? That's a tough thing to simulate in training camp.
Yeah, definitely. He can train with smaller guys that move just as fast as Lesnar but they're not going to be as heavy... So Lesnar is one of those guys, you're not going to find too many guys in the gym that are going to simulate how he moves.
But Randy's competed for so long. I'm sure his wrestling background has enabled him to compete at levels even above and beyond what Lesnar's done up to this point.
So I think if anyone can nullify him, it's going to be Randy. I think he's extraordinarily ingenious about game plans. If you watched how he fought with Tim Sylvia, he figured out a way to nullify his reach, so if anyone can figure out a way to nullify the quickness of Lesnar with the addition of his size, Randy will do it.
Q&A: Mir talks TUF, Nogueira
Fomer heavyweight champion Frank Mir has appeared on TV many times as a fighter and broadcaster, but Wednesday's season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter will mark his on-screen debut as a coach.
"I'm kind of a perfectionist and there's a lot of mistakes that I made," Mir told me this week. "The first time through, you're kind of learning as you're going on the show. ... If I had another opporutnity to do it, I'd take it in a heartbeat because I feel I could even better the second time around."
If nothing else, the reality TV program's eighth season could serve as an introduction to a wider audience for Mir, who won the Ultimate Fighting Championship's heavyweight title in the organization's pre-TUF days. UFC officials expect his stint as a coach on the show to provide an extended build-up for Mir's fight in December with interim champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who coached against Mir on the program.
Frank Mir, left, submitted Brock Lesnar in February. Zuffa
It's been a lengthy trip back to prominence for Mir, who was badly injured by a motorcycle accident in September 2004, almost three months after he broke Tim Sylvia's arm to win UFC's heavyweight belt. His recovery took so long that UFC decided to strip him of the championship in 2005, and by the time Mir returned to competition in February 2006, the MMA landscape had changed drastically; UFC was well on its way to becoming the world's top MMA promoter and Mir was forced to climb the ladder again.
NOGUEIRA-MIR: Mutual respect
After losing two of his first three fights back, Mir won two in a row, most recently in February against fast-rising star Brock Lesnar, whom Mir submitted with a kneebar barely a minute and a half into their bout after surviving an early Lesnar ground-and-pound assault. That win was enough to convince UFC to match Mir against Nogueira, first as Ultimate Fighter coaches of opposite teams, then in a title match scheduled for December.
I spoke to Mir on Monday about the TV show, Nogueira and newly returned heavyweight champion Randy Couture. Excerpts from the Mir interview:
Q: What's the difference between how you coached in The Ultimate Fighter's artificial environment and how you would do it in the real world?
Mir: They're in a home for six weeks, sleeping sometimes in the same room as an opponent that they're going to have, eating breakfast with the guy they're going to fight. They have no outside condolences; they don't have a wife they can talk to; they can't play video games and read a book, to calm down and relax; they're not listening to music; they're not able to do anything besides go and train and be each other's own stimulation, and that's very difficult.
So we're dealing with problems when I'm coaching these guys, that you're almost part counselor and part coach, because you're trying to maintain some kind of sanity and focus that wouldn't be issues if these guys were just in a camp and training with each other, and we were getting ready for a fight, and had to just show up and see your opponent there.
These guys are on go mode 24 hours. They train alongside each other. Then they go home, they're in the kitchen with each other; they don't have anybody to talk to and calm them down. It's a very difficult scenario.
Do you think being on the edge all the time like that helpd them as fighters, or did it detract from their ability fight?
I think it does detract from their ability to fight because they're not just focused on the fight now. There's all kinds of other things going on.
Some people are under the misconception that, oh, they're in the house, and they're more focused, and they're surrounded and they're training and they're (on) a strict regimen.
No, guys. People train very strict when they're home, and they get to train in their own gym and train with their own coach. ... There's no release valve. It's on their head, it's on their mind; there's no relaxation.
If you're successful and move on to the finals, you would have fought three times in six weeks. It makes them fall short of their ability.
For one, they don't have their normal surroundings. ... They're thrust into a weird environment with cameras on them, and with most guys it's the first time they've had any kind of exposure. The stakes are that much higher, so typically, as most humans do under that kind of stress, they tend to degrade. Very few people can rise to the occasion under all that turmoil.
When I talked to Jon Fitch last month before his fight with Georges St. Pierre...
That's so funny you bring him up, because I used him as an example today. In a previous interview, I said that Jon Fitch is a great example of somebody, that if he had done the show, he would have been in a title shot in 6 months. And because he fought without the show, he didn't get as much exposure and he had to fight eight times (in UFC) before he got a title shot.
Fitch told me that he felt that being cut from the cast before the show started ultimately helped him because he developed better at a fighter, and at a better pace, so that when he did get a title shot, he was much better prepared. How much validity do you see in that view?
Oh yeah. I think there's validity to the fact that he got to work over a process of fighting every 3 to 4 months, maybe 6 months in between. he's building himself up and he became a much (more) formidable opponent.
That's one disadvantage, of being thrust, like I said, into the house, is that immediately you are a star when you exit that house. You have a tag on you when you're walking around that you're somebody that people want to take out now. Whereas if you're not coming from that background, you're not the guy, you don't have the sign on your back that says, "I am the one."
You can see with all the fighters — when they first come out, people are gunning after them, to beat the guy who won The Ultimate Fighter show to prove they could have won the show.
What are the differences between your approach to coaching and Nogueira's?
I can't tell you until I watch the season, obviously, about how he did it. But from what I heard from what the other guys were talking about, their training practices were a little more strict as far as, "This is what has to be done today, this is what you're going to do."
And then even when the fight selections came up, from what I understand -- again, I'm just going off from what I feel off of what the other guys are telling me — they were told who they were going to fight. The coaches made all the decisions.
Whereas how I approached it on my team. ... everything was more of a discussion. Almost like if we were a football team and I'm team captain: I'm not above you, and I'm not better than you and I don't really necessarily know more than you know. It's just that, we all can sit here and talk, but when it comes down to it, you need a point man who's going to be the one who's going to give the final yes or no, and so that's how I looked at that.
But if everybody's in concurrence with a certain idea, then that's where we're going with it. if everybody agrees that our Fighter A is the best guy to beat their Fighter A, then you know what? Tell me why you think so and boom, that's what's happening, regardless of what I think.
How much of the difference do you think stems from cultural background? Nogueira comes from that traditional Brazilian martial arts background. From what I understand, some of the camps down there can be pretty strict.
I've gotten that impression sometimes from some of the other people I've trained with that came from Brazil: "Dont ask any questions, just do what I say. You dont need to understand why; I've been doing this for so long, I know why."
I don't know, I guess the way I was raised and the way I prefer to do things, I don't mind doing anything. I respect what people have to say, but I think it's so much better if you tell me why. ... If you really have faith and trust in what you're telling me to do, and you really understand it, then you should have no problems explaining it to me.
You haven't fought that many times in the last few years. How often would you like to fight?
I think fighting every six months is a good thing if that's how it plays out. Whenever you're at the top level, it seems like fighters will fight, maybe two fights real close to each other sometimes because you'll have one that just kind of leads into another. And then there's long layoffs that you have that just seem to be inevitable, because of the popularity of our sport, we have so many guys.
All of a sudden, BJ Penn will fight twice. He'll fight real quick and then all of a sudden, you won't see him for a year. That's just the way it is.
Now, Anderson Silva's being showcased; he's fighting a lot. And then all of a sudden, Anderson Silva will rotate through and you'll see GSP.
It's just real difficult now to get a lot of fights because you have so many guys. Who gets bounced out of a card? You can only have so many fights in a night, you know?
That said, do you think there is room to just put on more cards to showcase these guys?
Yeah, I think now that the sport's growing. But the only problem is, how much is the fan base going to keep paying $49 or $39 to watch all these fights? At a certain point, you've got to have that supply and demand thing going.
You want to have a card and you want to stack it with several good fights, but if you spread it out too much, even if the cards are worth it — but if they're every weekend, you get to the point where it's like, okay, you're spreading yourself thin.
Unless they start doing a lot of things on, say if you got a hold of an HBO-type scenario, where you can have it all the time and people aren't paying pay-per-view every fight, except for maybe on special opportunities.
You're the commentator for World Extreme Cagefighting, which basically revolves around being on the Versus channel. Do you think that is a viable for the rest of the MMA industry?
I think so. I don't understand why it hasn't gone that route. I think maybe boxing sometimes stalls it out in some aspects. Showtime, obviously, has picked up their show. But I think it should go that way. I think that the free TV, or cable TV, is just the way to go.
I think it's difficult to constitute all these pay-per-views. Obviously you're going to have them, but I think it'll almost kind of like go towards the model you have for boxing, how you have boxing matches on HBO, but whenever you have a huge fight, a Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson, boom, now you have it on pay-per-view for the first week, but then after that week, you can see it on HBO.
Let's talk about your own upcoming fight. Do you expect to go to the ground with Nogueira?
Yeah, I find it inevitable. Both our tendencies are that way.
Realistically in a fight, Nogueira and myself, both our tendencies are to go to the ground. So regardless of who thinks is better than who, even if he's getting the better of me in standup, or if I'm getting the better of him in standup, I guarantee you that we're both going to engage on the ground. Both of us look to finish fights there.
How would you describe the difference between your approach to jiu-jitsu versus his?
Nogueira catches you a lot of times when you make mistakes. He doesn't force a lot of mistakes.
I force things to happen. I create opportunities because I explode and I move around and look a little bit more offensively.
He's more like a spider; he sits there and waits. Like you've seen when he fought Tim Sylvia, he's moving around (and) moving around; he's not getting killed, but he's not necessarily imposing his will. And then the first time Tim made a mistake, he capitalizes and wins.
How many submissions did I go for, even in the short fight with Lesnar? I went for two different armbars; I went for a shoulderlock; and then I flipped over and went for the leglock. It was three different submission attempts and then I finally caught one. I wasn't just waiting for Lesnar to tire out and make a mistake; even before he made a mistake, I had already made a submission attempt.
The last aggressive submission guy that Nogueira fought was probably Josh Barnett. Do you take those two fights he had with Josh as something you can learn from?
Yeah, definitely. Funny you say that, because I do use that as a role model for how to try to defeat Nogueira.
Fedor (Emelianenko, who beat Nogueira twice) does a lot of things, but he's such a physical specimen of an athlete that sometimes there's things that he does that other fighters just can't do. You can't mimic it. You can't say, "Well, he did it, I'm going to do it." No, dude, that's him. You know what I mean? He pulls that off.
Whereas Barnett is not a freak of nature of an athlete. He's just a very skilled martial artist and uses a lot of great techniques, so you can pull from that and say, "Well, you know, if that's what he did, I can do the same thing."
The last time anyone has tapped Nogueira in any situation was when Ricco Rodriguez caught him with a kneebar (at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club grappling championships in 2000). And Barnett pretty much did catch him with one also in their first fight (at the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix 2006 semifinal), but time ran out. How much of a vulnerability do you see there?
I think that if I was to submit Nogueira, it would be with a leglock or a footlock before it would be with an armbar or choke. Those are a little bit more difficult submissions to set up, whereas you can fall asleep and get caught in a leglock.
In the other big UFC heavyweight fight coming up, Randy Couture takes on Brock Lesnar. You fought Brock. How do you think Randy should approach him?
Randy just needs to be patient. Brock is an extraordinarily powerful guy, (but) if Randy just waits for the opportunity, he can seal the deal. I think Randy's a very savvy fighter.
Lesnar has a lot of potential; eventually he'll be a very good fighter in MMA. I just think that right now, Randy can capitalize on the fact that he's going to be much more experienced in the striking and the submission ranges of our art.
So I think that (Couture can succeed) if he just sits there on his feet and looks for shots to land, and stays safe from being taken down and smothered. And at the same time when on the ground, he looks for opportunities to submit Lesnar.
After your fight against Brock, you said you were surprised by his speed.
Yes, his quickness was very shocking.
How much can Randy can do about that? That's a tough thing to simulate in training camp.
Yeah, definitely. He can train with smaller guys that move just as fast as Lesnar but they're not going to be as heavy... So Lesnar is one of those guys, you're not going to find too many guys in the gym that are going to simulate how he moves.
But Randy's competed for so long. I'm sure his wrestling background has enabled him to compete at levels even above and beyond what Lesnar's done up to this point.
So I think if anyone can nullify him, it's going to be Randy. I think he's extraordinarily ingenious about game plans. If you watched how he fought with Tim Sylvia, he figured out a way to nullify his reach, so if anyone can figure out a way to nullify the quickness of Lesnar with the addition of his size, Randy will do it.
Talkin’ MMA and Brock Lesnar with Erik Paulson
By Scoop Malinowski
Memories.com: Brock absolutely dominated Heath Herring at UFC 87 in Minneapolis. His amateur wrestling skills simply proved to be too much for Herring to handle. Why do you think Brock was able to manhandle Herring so easily?
Erik Paulson: “I think nobody has been really able to understand since I’ve been training with Brock - his transitions, controlling and riding people are unbelievable. He was really good at riding people in college wrestling. That explains why he didn’t put his hooks in. A lot of people were expecting him to put his hooks in but Heath is really good at rolling out as soon as you put your hooks in. And another thing about Brock is he is really, really hard to catch in a submission. Now we’re really looking for Brock to slow down and really look for openings for strikes and submissions.”
Memories.com: Herring is now demanding a re-match against Brock. Should Brock give it to him? After all, the fighter who wins the first time around generally wins about 70% of the time in the re-match.
Erik Paulson: “I don’t know. Does the UFC want a rematch? If the UFC feels compelled to give Herring a rematch, it would be good.”
Memories.com: How many more fights and how much more training does Brock need before you would consider him coming close to becoming a well-rounded fighter? If he learns how to strike accurately and proficiently, he’s unstoppable.
Erik Paulson: “Well, he already knows how to do that. His striking has gotten so much better. That’s what we’ve worked on for the last two fights - his striking. It’s a daily process. You have to keep in mind they’re not throwing Brock any slouches. He jumped right into the deep end. Frank Mir was his second fight. Sure, he would do a rematch with Heath. Brock is so aggressive, his conditioning is unbelievable. He does an eight-week camp. His two coaches are Greg Nelson for MMA and Marty Morgan his wrestling coach at U of M. They structure his complete training schedule. I’m brought in for a week. I combine the striking with the grappling. People don’t understand that Brock is really fast. One reason he doesn’t show it is because he wants to lead them in.”
Memories.com: Right now in the UFC Heavyweight division, it seems the top three guys in the end will be Brock, Nogueira, and Cain Velasquez. Velasquez is an excellent wrestler and he trains with a good team at American Kickboxing Academy. How would you see a fight going between Cain and Brock? In terms of building a game plan, what are some of the major weaknesses that Velasquez has in his young MMA career at the moment?
Erik Paulson: “I don’t know who he is. I know people have been talking about him. But I haven’t actually studied him. I’ve probably seen him before. Everyone is a contender, you can never take anyone lightly or underestimate anyone. Brock will definitely be prepared for anyone he fights. His number one strength is his conditioning. And he also has a gameplan. That’s where I come in. That’s Greg’s and my specialty - formulating a gameplan for each opponent. Then have a back-up gameplan if that doesn’t work.”
Nogueira is currently the UFC Heavyweight champion and he’s really tough, but he’s also getting older and has taken some real beatings in his career. How much preparation time do you think Brock would need in order to have the skill set to beat Nogueira and win the UFC Heavyweight title?
Erik Paulson: “A lot. Because Nogeuira’s very dangerous on the ground. Brock would have to outwrestle him and take him down. And be very careful that he doesn’t extend his limbs. Brock hits like a sledgehammer. He hits so hard and he’s fast. One thing we’re really working hard on is not pushing his strikes but launching strikes with crack and pop at the end. To have boxer-level hands. Also, his knees are devastating. I would not want to get kneed by Brock. His knees are huge. Heath had no idea that Brock was going to come out and throw a kick at him. As for a match with Nogueira, I have no idea what the UFC’s plans are. I know Brock has two more fights. Brock is such an incredible athlete. He could rise to the occasion. For me, he’s fun to train because he’s so ambitious. Brock is completely coach able. Some fighters I’ve worked with, you go for a week and you end up holding pads for them. With Brock, it’s, Can you teach me? Can you show me? Can you show me? It’s worth the time to go there
By Scoop Malinowski
Memories.com: Brock absolutely dominated Heath Herring at UFC 87 in Minneapolis. His amateur wrestling skills simply proved to be too much for Herring to handle. Why do you think Brock was able to manhandle Herring so easily?
Erik Paulson: “I think nobody has been really able to understand since I’ve been training with Brock - his transitions, controlling and riding people are unbelievable. He was really good at riding people in college wrestling. That explains why he didn’t put his hooks in. A lot of people were expecting him to put his hooks in but Heath is really good at rolling out as soon as you put your hooks in. And another thing about Brock is he is really, really hard to catch in a submission. Now we’re really looking for Brock to slow down and really look for openings for strikes and submissions.”
Memories.com: Herring is now demanding a re-match against Brock. Should Brock give it to him? After all, the fighter who wins the first time around generally wins about 70% of the time in the re-match.
Erik Paulson: “I don’t know. Does the UFC want a rematch? If the UFC feels compelled to give Herring a rematch, it would be good.”
Memories.com: How many more fights and how much more training does Brock need before you would consider him coming close to becoming a well-rounded fighter? If he learns how to strike accurately and proficiently, he’s unstoppable.
Erik Paulson: “Well, he already knows how to do that. His striking has gotten so much better. That’s what we’ve worked on for the last two fights - his striking. It’s a daily process. You have to keep in mind they’re not throwing Brock any slouches. He jumped right into the deep end. Frank Mir was his second fight. Sure, he would do a rematch with Heath. Brock is so aggressive, his conditioning is unbelievable. He does an eight-week camp. His two coaches are Greg Nelson for MMA and Marty Morgan his wrestling coach at U of M. They structure his complete training schedule. I’m brought in for a week. I combine the striking with the grappling. People don’t understand that Brock is really fast. One reason he doesn’t show it is because he wants to lead them in.”
Memories.com: Right now in the UFC Heavyweight division, it seems the top three guys in the end will be Brock, Nogueira, and Cain Velasquez. Velasquez is an excellent wrestler and he trains with a good team at American Kickboxing Academy. How would you see a fight going between Cain and Brock? In terms of building a game plan, what are some of the major weaknesses that Velasquez has in his young MMA career at the moment?
Erik Paulson: “I don’t know who he is. I know people have been talking about him. But I haven’t actually studied him. I’ve probably seen him before. Everyone is a contender, you can never take anyone lightly or underestimate anyone. Brock will definitely be prepared for anyone he fights. His number one strength is his conditioning. And he also has a gameplan. That’s where I come in. That’s Greg’s and my specialty - formulating a gameplan for each opponent. Then have a back-up gameplan if that doesn’t work.”
Nogueira is currently the UFC Heavyweight champion and he’s really tough, but he’s also getting older and has taken some real beatings in his career. How much preparation time do you think Brock would need in order to have the skill set to beat Nogueira and win the UFC Heavyweight title?
Erik Paulson: “A lot. Because Nogeuira’s very dangerous on the ground. Brock would have to outwrestle him and take him down. And be very careful that he doesn’t extend his limbs. Brock hits like a sledgehammer. He hits so hard and he’s fast. One thing we’re really working hard on is not pushing his strikes but launching strikes with crack and pop at the end. To have boxer-level hands. Also, his knees are devastating. I would not want to get kneed by Brock. His knees are huge. Heath had no idea that Brock was going to come out and throw a kick at him. As for a match with Nogueira, I have no idea what the UFC’s plans are. I know Brock has two more fights. Brock is such an incredible athlete. He could rise to the occasion. For me, he’s fun to train because he’s so ambitious. Brock is completely coach able. Some fighters I’ve worked with, you go for a week and you end up holding pads for them. With Brock, it’s, Can you teach me? Can you show me? Can you show me? It’s worth the time to go there
I THINK RANDY IS GONNA GRIND THIS ONE OUT AND CATCH BROCK SLIPPING IN THE LATER ROUNDS DEPENDING IF LESNAR'S CHIN IS DECENT AND DOESNT CATCH ONE ON THE BUTTON DURING THE STAND UP EXCHANGES. IT'S A FIVE ROUND MATCH,RANDY IS DEFINITELY GOING TO PRESSURE LESNAR ALL FIVE ROUNDS AND TRY TO USE HIS SIZE AGAINST HIM. HOPING HE GASSES IN THE LATER ROUNDS SO HE IS MORE VULNEARABLE TO SUBS. THAT IS IF THIS IS THE RANDY THAT FOUGHT GONZAGA AND SYLVIA.
NOG SHOULD HANDLE MIR WITHOUT A PROBLEM.
NOG VS RANDY WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING I DEFINITELY THINK NOGUIERA COULD TAKE THIS MATCH. NOGS BOXING AND JIU JITSU IS SICK. I REALLY DONT THINK RANDY'S STRIKING OR GROUND AND POUND IS GOOD ENOUGH TO REALLY DO ANY SERIOUS DAMAGE AGAINST NOG. AND NOGS SUBS ARENT TO BE FUCKED WITH.
I SAY NOGUIERA WINS THIS ONE.
NOG SHOULD HANDLE MIR WITHOUT A PROBLEM.
NOG VS RANDY WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING I DEFINITELY THINK NOGUIERA COULD TAKE THIS MATCH. NOGS BOXING AND JIU JITSU IS SICK. I REALLY DONT THINK RANDY'S STRIKING OR GROUND AND POUND IS GOOD ENOUGH TO REALLY DO ANY SERIOUS DAMAGE AGAINST NOG. AND NOGS SUBS ARENT TO BE FUCKED WITH.
I SAY NOGUIERA WINS THIS ONE.
Couture, Lesnar Being Filmed for Mini Series
By Sam Caplan
UFC President Dana White revealed several weeks back during the conference call announcing heavyweight champion Randy Couture’s return to the promotion that the company had discussed a possible three-part mini-series to promote Couture’s upcoming fight against Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 on Nov. 15.
HBO’s critically-acclaimed “24/7″ reality television documentary that was filmed to promote bouts between Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton was cited as an inspiration for the project.
According to Dave Meltzer in the Sept. 15 print edition of the Wrestling Observer, White’s concept is on its way to becoming a reality as both Couture and Lesnar are reportedly being filmed for the upcoming project.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com contacted Spike TV for details but an official with the network said plans for the documentary have not been solidified. The Observer indicates that a decision has not been made as to whether to air the shows in the three consecutive weeks leading up to the day, or the three days before.
“24/7″ was considered a breakthrough in combat sports promotion and while the De La Hoya vs. Mayweather and Mayweather vs. Hatton fights were going to draw well no matter what, it is believed that the documentary series made a significant difference in the number of buys the fights attracted on pay-per-view.
White has proclaimed the Couture vs. Lesnar as the biggest fight in UFC history. From a business perspective, that could be true with several industry insiders projecting between 600,000-800,000 buys for the event. A strong mini-series patterned after HBO’s reality television vehicle could push the buys for UFC 91 higher than initial projections and make it the most watched pay-per-view in the history of mixed martial arts
By Sam Caplan
UFC President Dana White revealed several weeks back during the conference call announcing heavyweight champion Randy Couture’s return to the promotion that the company had discussed a possible three-part mini-series to promote Couture’s upcoming fight against Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 on Nov. 15.
HBO’s critically-acclaimed “24/7″ reality television documentary that was filmed to promote bouts between Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton was cited as an inspiration for the project.
According to Dave Meltzer in the Sept. 15 print edition of the Wrestling Observer, White’s concept is on its way to becoming a reality as both Couture and Lesnar are reportedly being filmed for the upcoming project.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com contacted Spike TV for details but an official with the network said plans for the documentary have not been solidified. The Observer indicates that a decision has not been made as to whether to air the shows in the three consecutive weeks leading up to the day, or the three days before.
“24/7″ was considered a breakthrough in combat sports promotion and while the De La Hoya vs. Mayweather and Mayweather vs. Hatton fights were going to draw well no matter what, it is believed that the documentary series made a significant difference in the number of buys the fights attracted on pay-per-view.
White has proclaimed the Couture vs. Lesnar as the biggest fight in UFC history. From a business perspective, that could be true with several industry insiders projecting between 600,000-800,000 buys for the event. A strong mini-series patterned after HBO’s reality television vehicle could push the buys for UFC 91 higher than initial projections and make it the most watched pay-per-view in the history of mixed martial arts