Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman

A lot of age-related jokes could be made about this main event. I however am going to take the high road and focus on the match itself. Besides, Matlock is on in a few minutes and I want to wrap this prediction up soon.

Both men are strong wrestlers. Both are north of forty. The edge will go to whoever has evolved the most over the past few years.

Back in 2007, Randy Couture shocked the world when he defeated Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight title. That happened a year after his alleged retirement. Randy wasn’t supposed to fight again, let alone win the title of a weight class above what he last competed in. What’s more, he was able to out strike Sylvia. He only used his wrestling when he felt like it.

Randy has had a couple of wins and losses since then. He’s in his mid-forties, but he has as much of a right to compete as men ten years younger than him. He’s obviously done the things necessary to keep his body healthy.

Now, let’s look at Mark Coleman. Mr. Coleman hasn’t been as active as Randy. Coleman looked terrible in his return to the UFC, a losing effort to Shogun. Oddly enough, both looked over the hill. Mark did have some success with his wrestling. However Shogun proved to be the more resilient of the two and won by TKO.

Somehow, Coleman was able to grind out a decision win over Stephan Bonnar. Bonnar is no slouch, (although that statement is now up for debate) which proves Coleman has the potential to make a splash in the light heavyweight division.

Still, Coleman relied heavily on his takedowns. Were it not for that ability to maintain top position, he could have easily lost to Bonnar (and lost even worse to Shogun). Randy Couture is extremely hard to take down. Even Brock Lesnar had some trouble in that area.

Needless to say, Coleman is not a 280-pound monster. Nor does he have explosive striking. Coleman fits relatively easily into the one-dimensional wrestler role. Unfortunately, his cardio is still a bit shaky. At this stage of his career, it’s not likely to get any better.

Despite what all the doubters (which has occasionally included myself) say, Randy Couture is truly one of a kind. Indeed, he’s the only man to truly defy Father Time. Mark Coleman is still a halfway-decent fighter, but he’s no Randy Couture.

It would be great to see Randy win here, as there’s a few marquee match-ups to be had. Anyone still want to see Randy vs. Chuck IV? It could happen this year!

To quote Dana White, “I’m through counting Randy Couture out”.

Next Fight: Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen

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