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Saturday night in Portland, Oregon, Randy “The Natural” Couture battled Antonio “Minotauro” Noguiera in an exciting 15-minute bout that kept fans standing, screaming and thinking “the end” had come several times before the fight finally went decision.
Forty-six-year-old Couture, appearing as phenomenally fit as his 33-year-old opponent, stands and exchanges with Noguiera in the first round, landing some solid combinations and avoiding excessive punishment from the larger Noguiera. Noguiera's combos, damaging and precise, keep pushing the pace and halfway through the first round a single potent straight right knocks the legend to the ground. Noguiera attempts to sink a D'Arce choke but in a spectacular display of talent and experience, Randy escapes and returns to his feet.
The second round quickly goes to the ground as Noguiera shoots in, taking Couture down and once again attempting to submit him (with an arm-triangle choke from the top). The Natural, having never been submitted in his UFC career, once again--and to the delights of thousands of screaming fans--avoids what looks like the end. Randy (again) gets back to his feet and the fight carries on into round 3.
Round 3 the fighter stand and exchange but the fight goes to the ground after Noguiera lands a well-calculated and powerful right hook; he looks to finish Randy with an intense flurry of ground and pound but Couture avoids the TKO, reversing into the dominant position and finishing the third round atop Noguiera.
Antonio Noguiera had set a brutal pace for this fight forcing Randy to spend the majority of each round countering and defending his relentlessness. Randy’s MMA experience revealed itself in his astonishing ability to avoid submission and TKO but Noguiera’s strength, skill and capacity ultimately dominated. Despite all three rounds clearly belonging to Antonio Noguiera, this fight was exciting, technical and certainly worthy of praise; it was undeniably “a damn good fight” (Randy Couture).
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