Couture's picks for tonight's UFC 81

[keithlewis]

Thanks to Enderwiggin for putting this together!


Protestingly abdicating UFC HW Champion Randy “The Natural” Couture has a knack for picking the winners of fights. During his stint as a regular main event guest commentator for the UFC, Joe Rogan regularly asked Couture who he picked to win the fight. Couture was right nearly every time – even when he picked the underdog. He was so accurate that Rogan had running jokes about how he always called Randy to ask who to place his bets on, and there were (unverified) rumors that when Randy Couture picked a winner, betting odds changed dramatically.
Although Couture is still under his exclusivity contract with the UFC (meaning he cannot fight or commentate for any organization for a year (after the end of his contract?), he is still very much in the public eye; appearing on TV, radio, and all over the internet. Randy is a regular guest on two of The Fight Network’s “Before and After the Bell” – which, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is “Before and after every big event or PPV, The Fight Network will be there with all your news and scoops. Catch every weigh-in, breaking news story and fight preview as they happen. Before The Bell is the only way to get pumped before a big show. For all your reviews and reactions, After The Bell will be your primary source for recaps.” (quote from http://www.thefightnetwork.com/programming.php , under “Specialty Programming”)

From the latest episodes of “Before the Bell”, these are Couture’s picks for tonight’s UFC 81 “Breaking Point”. (official transcriptions provided by http://www.thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=6162)



INTERIM HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Tim Sylvia (26-3) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (30-4-1) – Sylvia


“I think Tim will tire Nogueira out on his feet. I think Nogueira’s going to have trouble putting him on the ground and maneuvering Sylvia into his strength, which is his submission game. I can see it going a third-round KO, but I could also see it going the distance and Nogueira getting a beating.”

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HEAVYWEIGHT: Frank Mir (10-3) vs. Brock Lesnar (1-0) - Mir

“I’m going with Mir with a second-round submission. As big and strong as Lesnar is, and as hard as he’s going to come, I think he’s going to put Mir right where he wants to be and Lesnar’s going to get out of position and get caught.”

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MIDDLEWEIGHT: Jeremy Horn (88-16-5) vs. Nate Marquardt (28-7-1) - Marquardt

“I’m going to go with Marquardt. Jeremy hasn’t really been the same since the Liddell fight. I think he realized he’s not infallible and can be hurt. Taking the fight on short notice probably isn’t the wisest thing. Marquardt is strong for that weight class and hits hard. I think Horn’s going to have trouble taking Marquardt down to find a wily way to submit him.”

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MIDDLEWEIGHT: Rob Yundt (7-0) vs. Ricardo Almeida (8-2) - Almeida

“Almeida.”

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LIGHTWEIGHT: Gleison Tibau (27-3) vs. Tyson Griffin (10-1) - Griffin

“I’m going with Tyson Griffin. Both guys have great fighting spirit, but Tyson’s very difficult to submit and will bring a torturable pace to the fight that Tibau’s going to have trouble keeping. I think it will be a decision and probably be the fight of the night.”