UFC 109: Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman Could Determine Next No. 1 Contender
On the eve of Super Bowl XLIV, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has put together a stacked fight card headlined by two iconic figures in the sport of mixed martial arts. Before UFC hall of famers Randy "The Natural" Couture and Mark "The Hammer" Coleman step into the Octagon one can't help but ponder if a title shot awaits the victor.
At this time it is any man's guess as far as who would be next in line to fight for the coveted 205-lb strap. Current champion Lyoto Machida is set to defend his title against Mauricio "Shogun " Rua at UFC 113 in Montreal but other than Rua there really isn't any one fighter that can be considered the clear cut number one contender.
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Let's rephrase that, there isn't just one fighter, there are several competitors that could make a case for a title shot in the ultra stacked light-heavyweight division. Couture vs. Coleman is one matchup that could potentially determine a new title challenger within the division. However it's one of several high caliber light-heavyweight bouts that will be taking place in the next few months.
Let's take a look at the UFC 109 headliner as well as other top dollar 205-lb scraps and their relevancy to the light-heavyweight title picture.
Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman - UFC 109
Despite being a combined age of 92 years old, Couture and Coleman have proven in their last performances that they still have what it takes to be competitive in this sport. In the case of "The Natural" he never truly ages. Couture has been "the old guy" ever since he made his UFC debut at UFC 13 in 1997 at the age of 34.
"Captain America" has always had father time on his side and has made a career out of proven doubters wrong. In his last five fights, Couture has gone 3-2 in the Octagon with a recent victory over Brandon Vera at UFC 105 in Manchester, England.
Defeating Coleman, who was the very first UFC heavyweight champion in history, would be a big win for anyone. However the win would not have nearly the same effect as it would have had ten years ago. Still, not many would cry foul if the UFC granted Couture an immediate title shot if he pulls off the victory this weekend.
Sure, there would definitely be a plethora of other contenders more deserving of a championship fight than Couture but the one thing that "The Natural" has over the rest of the competition, is name value.
Simply put, Couture is one of the UFC's hottest commodities and putting him up against either Machida or "Shogun " for the light-heavyweight title would mean big bucks for the UFC.
Now if "The Hammer" were to pull off the upset and claim a victory over Couture, he would have a much tougher time moving into the title picture. Coleman returned to the UFC in 2009 for the first time since 1999 to take on his nemesis from PRIDE, "Shogun " at UFC 93. "The Hammer" put up a valiant effort but looked old and gassed in the process.
After losing that fight, Coleman overpowered Stephan Bonnar at the historic UFC 100 card to earn his first victory in three years. A win over Couture would be huge for the "Godfather of Ground and Pound" but if "Shogun " beats Machida it isn't likely that UFC matchmaker Joe Silva would grant Coleman a rematch.
Coleman better hope that "The Dragon" remains the champion after UFC 113 if he plans on earning an instant title shot. But in all likelihood, "The Hammer" would need one more win over a ranked opponent before fighting Machida. He just does not have the same name value as Couture to be launched immediately into the title picture.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Rashad Evans - UFC 114
The heated grudge match between "Rampage" and Evans was supposed to take place back at UFC 108 in Jackson's hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Unfortunately Jackson's decision to play the role of B.A Baracus in the upcoming A-Team film has put that fight off until UFC 114 in May.
Evans still competed on the UFC 108 card grinding out a decision over Brazilian wrecking-machine Thiago Silva . The victory was Evans' first since losing his title to Machida last year and it has put The Ultimate Fighter season two winner one step closer to earning back his coveted championship. The problem is "The Dragon" finished Evans in such a dominant fashion that a rematch would not be extremely marketable at this point.
Evans vs. "Shogun ," on the other hand, would be a very interesting fight and one that the UFC could promote as a legitimate headliner. Assuming that both fighters win their next fight it would almost be guaranteed that they will square off against each other for the gold.
It is uncertain if "Rampage" plans on sticking around after the Evans fight. Jackson claims that the Evans bout will be the last on his contract and afterward he is going to return to acting and maybe even take up a few boxing fights once in awhile to "stay in shape."
Whether or not those are his true intentions or he is just saying that out of anger remains to be seen. Assuming "Rampage" will mend things over with Dana White and renew his contract to continue his fighting career in the UFC, he would get a title shot ahead of anyone else if he was triumphant over Evans.
Jackson has gone 2-0 since losing his title in a closely contested battle to Forrest Griffin in 2008. He completely obliterated Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 and out-pointed Keith Jardine at UFC 96. A knockout over Evans, or any win at all for that matter would put Jackson right into a title fight with whoever the title holder is at the current time.
First things first, if Vera wins this fight he will not challenge for the title. Nothing against "The Truth" but with a recent loss to Couture still fresh in fans minds it will be highly unlikely to see him fighting Machida or "Shogun " anytime soon. Vera is a talented fighter but he has not looked overly impressive or done anything noteworthy recently to make people believe he is anywhere near the title picture.
On the flip side, a win over a stud like Jones would set "The Truth" back on the right track. If Vera started stringing together big wins in the 205-lb division after beating Jones than he would most definitely challenge for the strap eventually.
Conversely Jones is an absolute beast of a prospect. At just 22 years of age, MMA enthusiasts are already comparing "Bones" to the likes of Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva . His record may read 9-1 but that one loss was a disqualification after landing illegal elbow to his opponent Matt Hamill . Prior to the elbows, Jones was dominating Hamill and seemed to be well on his way to finishing the fight.
A decisive win over Vera puts Jones right into the upper echelon of the weight class. In fact, it may even earn him a title shot depending on the situation. Although the question remains, would it be too soon to push "Bones" into a fight with the champion?
Technically this fight hasn't been officially announced but both fighters have been reported to verbally agree to the bout so that's good enough. It is difficult to find a fight fan that does not love Griffin as he has established the reputation for being one of the most beloved fighters of all time. The winner of the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Griffin captured UFC gold with a huge win over "Rampage."
Before winning the championship Griffin shocked the world with a submission victory over the current No. 1 contender in "Shogun " back in 2007. A rematch between Rua and Griffin would be very profitable considering Rua was credited for not being anywhere near 100 percent when he fought Griffin the first time. The fight would have fans wondering if Griffin's win was a fluke or if he truly is a better fighter than "Shogun ."
Machida vs. Griffin would also be a big fight and one that would generate a large amount of revenue for the UFC. In fact they were supposed to fight each other years ago but the fight was cancelled due to an injury. Now that both fighters have the UFC championship on their resume it bolsters the star power of the matchup.
Nonetheless, "Minotoro" would also deem himself worthy of a title shot if he were to best Griffin. Rogerio is the twin brother of former UFC interim-heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera and made his UFC debut at UFC 106 knocking out top contender Luis Cane .
A win over a former champ in Griffin would absolutely be enough to earn a crack at the UFC title. Although Nogueira would never fight his teammate Machida but a rematch against "Shogun " would certainly be welcomed.
This article was originally featured on fiveknuckles.com
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