Couture vs Nogueira

[Taric]

Randy was 46, Nog was 33.

Not may have had a few more miles on the clock, but 46 is ancient.

Randy was 33 in his first MMA fight back in '97.
Nog was 23 in his first MMA fight back in '99.

Both started MMA essentially at the same time which is one of the biggest factors, along with punishment.

 

[MartinGibson86]

Best fight between old men you'll ever witness.

Nog was yonger than the current FLW champ and most of the top 10 BWs.

He and Randy are 12 years apart

 

[Taric]

Nog was yonger than the current FLW champ and most of the top 10 BWs.

He and Randy are 12 years apart

Randy was 33 in his first MMA fight back in '97.
Nog was 23 in his first MMA fight back in '99.

Both started MMA essentially at the same time which is one of the biggest factors, along with punishment.

I'll just quote myself.

 

[Jewish Lightning]

I'll just quote myself.

Imagine having to explain this. Randy was champion one fight before fighting Nog. He was so juiced up on TRT he was putting in work in the gym like a 36 year old.

 

[Mr Wings]

He was 46 during the fight

But afterwards he was 50.

 

[sabretitan]

Lol Randy was more in his prime than Minotauro was.

Ya ok noob

 

[MartinGibson86]

I'll just quote myself.

Ok. Still 12 years apart lol.

Randy was 45 dude...Nog was 33

 

[Jewish Lightning]

Ya ok noob

Facts are facts

 

[Deleted member 110072]

46 juiced up on TRT with 12 less fights was more like 36.

He also had less to loose in terms of speed/agility.

 

[Steve-French]

46 juiced up on TRT with 12 less fights was more like 36.

Randy Wrestled his whole life too and did it at an Olympic level until he was 34 years old. Amateur wrestling training is brutal and tears up the body too. Randy was also not on TRT. He said that he tried to use natural products to boost his testosterone, but he never got a TRT exemption from a doctor like other fighters did. He also never pissed hot.

 

[Starman]

I agree Randy was closer to his prime than Nog was. I don’t believe either man was close to their best, but Nog was further on the decline.

Nog moved like a zombie for most of his run in the UFC. He had none of the explosiveness he’d once had, and was no longer able to absorb the kind of punishment he had in the past.

Prime for prime I think Nog still wins, and probably has an easier time of it.

 

[Jewish Lightning]

Randy Wrestled his whole life too and did it at an Olympic level until he was 34 years old. Amateur wrestling training is brutal and tears up the body too. Randy was also not on TRT. He said that he tried to use natural products to boost his testosterone, but he never got a TRT exemption from a doctor like other fighters did. He also never pissed hot.

Lmaaaaooo if you think Randy looked and performed that way in his mid 40s against Gonzaga, Brock and Nog without PEDs

 

[markg171]

Randy's MMA debut was at 34yo tho. He doesn't have the same age curve of the avg fighter he's an outlier like Yoel, DC etc

Randy was older than both Yoel and DC by 4+ years.

Randy was 33 in his first MMA fight back in '97.
Nog was 23 in his first MMA fight back in '99.

Both started MMA essentially at the same time which is one of the biggest factors, along with punishment.

If starting MMA late was the same as starting early, you'd see 40+ year old fighters with 30-40+ fights like you see with the guys who started in their 20s (or younger). Instead you see they have far less fights, almost like their body cannot take as many fights as the younger fighters can.

As to punishment, Nog was coming off of his first ever TKO loss where he never even went out. Randy meanwhile was coming off of his 5th, and though likewise never went out there, had been previously sparked out cold 2x previously by Chuck. Randy's chin was way worse than Nog's, as evidenced by Nog of all people dropping him 2x. And if you want to talk about general punishment and wars from fights, Nog arguably never took as much damage as Randy did against Rizzo. They both took a ton of punishment in their careers, it's not just Nog.

It's silly to pretend they were close in terms to athletic abilities by that point. You can just watch them during the fight and see that.

Imagine having to explain this. Randy was champion one fight before fighting Nog. He was so juiced up on TRT he was putting in work in the gym like a 36 year old.

Nog was also champion one fight before Randy.

I agree Randy was closer to his prime than Nog was. I don’t believe either man was close to their best, but Nog was further on the decline.

Nog moved like a zombie for most of his run in the UFC. He had none of the explosiveness he’d once had, and was no longer able to absorb the kind of punishment he had in the past.

Prime for prime I think Nog still wins, and probably has an easier time of it.

How you can possibly watch this fight, where Nog is very clearly far faster, more powerful, and more agile fighter than Randy and come across calling him the one further declined and a zombie is beyond me.

Nog effortlessly reversed Randy with nothing more than his hips, right into mount, 15 minutes into the fight. Please tell me more about how Randy was the one nearer to his prime here.

 

[Steve-French]

Lmaaaaooo if you think Randy looked and performed that way in his mid 40s against Gonzaga, Brock and Nog without PEDs

Maybe he did maybe he didn't, but he never pissed hot and never had a documented TRT exemption through an athletic commission. Something that you were claiming he had.

The whole Pride Roster was on PEDs and that can explain why a lot of them didn't preform as well in the UFC or under the sanctioned rules.

 

[HHJ]

I don’t really see anyone mention this fight. Definitely a top 10 hw fight of all time imo. Where do you rank it?

I thought it was a good fight,but i thought Nogueira was declining here,I remember thinking he clearly couldnt lock in submissions as well as he used to. He was clearly better than Randy,but couldnt put him away.

 

[HHJ]

Age isn't everything. Nog had more fights and took much more damage.

I mean its a silly argument to make,about who was in what prime and when in this situation.
The bottom line is,Randy's style transferred well to old age. It didnt require him to be quick,explosive or even hit that hard etc. He just had to get his mitts on ya,and work you towards the fence,and slowly drain the life bar. His dirty boxing in the Gonzaga fight was masterful.

 

[HHJ]

It was a robbery. Randy was off balance a few times and slipped over but the judges thought he was knocked down. One of the worst decisions I've seen, he controlled the entire fight.

 

[krelianx]

It was a great fight, but both were very much past their primes. It is behind others like:

Nog vs. Herring
Nog vs. Mirko
Nog vs. Barnett
Fedor vs. Mirko
Rizzo vs. Randy
Sergei vs. Nog
Aleksander vs. Sergei

 

[Taric]

If starting MMA late was the same as starting early, you'd see 40+ year old fighters with 30-40+ fights like you see with the guys who started in their 20s (or younger). Instead you see they have far less fights, almost like their body cannot take as many fights as the younger fighters can.

All "newer" fighters that have spent the majority of the careers in the UFC will have less total fights than fighters from yesteryear. It's not an age thing it's a UFC thing.

Whittaker, Adesanya, etc are never going to have 40 total fights in their careers ever despite being in their earlier 30s.
Hell Jon Jones is never going to have 40 fights in his career even though he's "only" 34. Why? Because he's been fighting for 14 years at this point. The dude is near retirement... because he's been fighting for a long ass time. He's old from a mileage standpoint.

Fighters generally cap out at around 10 years of fighting elite competition, and the simple reason for that is because of the wear and tear your body takes fighting competition that can rip you to shreds. Your body can only take that for so long.

 

[Jewish Lightning]

Maybe he did maybe he didn't, but he never pissed hot and never had a documented TRT exemption through an athletic commission. Something that you were claiming he had.

The whole Pride Roster was on PEDs and that can explain why a lot of them didn't preform as well in the UFC or under the sanctioned rules.

Yea just because Randy never pissed hot we should assume he was natural.

This picture was from the Nog weigh in. If you honestly think a man can look like this at 46 and make it through grueling training camps with intense sparring, wrestling and intense strength and conditioning training for 6 hours a day without PEDs you're straight up ignorant.



Randy didn't look or fight like a 46 year old man. He looked and fought like a 36 year old man and that's because of PEDs.