Best Shots From UFC 102

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Aug 31, 2009

Best Shots From UFC 102

Main Event

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated UFC hall of famer Randy Couture in a heavyweight battle at UFC 102. The main-event fight lasted the full three rounds before Nogueira was awarded the victory by unanimous decision.

Main Event

The 46-year-old Couture (black trunks) was knocked down twice by Nogueira and barely escaped multiple submission attempts.

Main Event

Couture was fighting in his hometown of Portland, Ore. But having the crowd on his side wasn't enough for a win.

Main Event

Despite the loss, Couture didn't appear to loss his fighting edge. Instead, Nogueira seemed to regain his.

Main Event

"Minotauro" of old when he dropped Couture with a right in the third round and nearly finished him with an onslaught of hammer-fists.

Main Event

Nogueira said it was an honor to be in the same ring with Couture. "I have a lot of respect for Randy," the Brazilian said. "That's why I trained so hard."

Main Event

Couture showed great courage and resiliency in escaping one bad position after another throughout the fight.

Main Event

Before the match there was some speculation about whether Couture might retire soon. But he put all the rumors to rest at a post-fight press conference.

Main Event

Couture went down again early in the third round and took a considerable amount of punishment while on his back.

Main Event

The 33-year-old Nogueira proved to be too much for Couture to overcome. Nogueira would win by unanimous decision.

Middleweight Bout

The much-anticipated clash of styles between top middleweight contenders Nate Marquardt (left) and Demian Maia never had a chance to materialize, as Marquardt knocked Maia out with a single right hand 21 seconds into the first round.

Middleweight Bout

Hometown favorite Chris Leben (left) looked good here, but he was upset by four-time All-American wrestler Jake Rosholt at 1:20 of Round 3.

Heavyweight Bout

After controlling his man with takedowns and a perfunctory ground-and-pound attack, Mike Russow (top) got the nod over Justin McCully by unanimous decision.