For the first time ever, the UFC will head over to Portland, Oregon where the famed Rose Garden arena will play host to the UFC’s 102nd event featuring a main event that will blow you away! It will be a clash of two heavyweight legends when former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture meets former PRIDE and UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira!

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Randy “The Natural” Couture is a name usually associated with mixed martial arts as he has carved a legacy that has made him one of the most well-respected fighters in the world of MMA. A fighter with a very strong background in Greco-Roman Wrestling, Couture is the first man to have held two UFC Titles in two different weight classes. What made this accomplishment interesting is that Couture is a late bloomer having only started competing as a professional MMA fighter at the age of 34! Throughout his storied career, Couture has battled against many famous names in the world of MMA in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions of the UFC. This includes such names as Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Pedro Rizzo, Josh Barnett, Ricco Rodriguez, Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz and of course, there was that memorable trilogy against Chuck Liddell over the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. After the third fight against Liddell where he lost to the feared striker, Couture announced his retirement from the sport, but it didn’t last long as he came out of retirement in March 2007 to capture the UFC Heavyweight Title from Tim Sylvia! As Couture himself said during the post-fight interview, “Not bad for an old man!” After defending the title against Gabriel Gonzaga, Couture was embroiled in a highly publicized legal battle with the UFC which saw him leaving the UFC to concentrate on other obligations, including his acting career, but after burying the hatchet with UFC President Dana White sometime last year, Couture announced his return to the UFC where he would defend and lose the UFC Heavyweight Title to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91.

Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira is the fighter on the opposite side of the Octagon. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert, Nogueira is a true warrior and survivor with a huge heart and willingness to never give up in a fight. After all, for a man who survived a horrific accident as a child and went on to live his life as a professional MMA fighter, that truly says a lot about Nogueira, doesn’t it? Much like Couture, Nogueira has also fought a list of who’s who in MMA. Men like Bob Sapp, Dan Henderson, Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Kiyoshi Tamura, Heath Herring, Volk Han, Mirko Filipovic, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum and even the legendary Fedor Emelianenko had been his opponents during his time fighting in Rings and PRIDE in Japan. When he signed up with the UFC, he competed against the likes of Heath Herring (for the third time) and Tim Sylvia, where he won the UFC Interim Heavyweight Title and became the very first fighter to hold a PRIDE and UFC Heavyweight Title in his career. Unfortunately, Nogueira encountered a huge roadblock in his career. After coaching the winning team in The Ultimate Fighter Season 8, Nogueira fought the opposing team’s coach, Frank Mir at UFC 92. Nogueira had been battling a staph infection and a knee injury prior to the fight and came into the fight in terrible shape. That ultimately led him to being stopped for the very first time in his career after a series of strikes by Mir, thus losing the UFC Interim Heavyweight Title.

The Natural vs. Minotauro: Finally they meet!

Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are two of the greatest heavyweights in the UFC today and throughout their careers, both men have never crossed each others’ paths before. They were close to facing each other for the UFC Heavyweight Title at UFC 81 until Couture decided to leave the UFC due to the aforementioned legal battle between Couture and the UFC.

However, things have changed. Brock Lesnar is now the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion after defeating Frank Mir at UFC 100 and many fighters and fans have been against the former WWE Superstar currently wearing MMA’s top heavyweight title. With Shane Carwin getting a shot at Lesnar’s title at UFC 106, this would mean that either Couture or Nogueira will be second in line for a shot at Lesnar’s UFC Heavyweight Title. This is a perfect motivation for both legendary heavyweights as they will have to beat one another in order to rule the UFC’s heavyweight division once again. While Couture currently makes Las Vegas his home, Portland was where he spent most of his life growing up, so the pressure is on him when he faces Nogueira in front of his hometown crowd.

Having fought many top names in MMA, it’s strange that Couture and Nogueira have never faced each other before until now. With UFC 102 emanating from the Rose Garden this weekend, it will be a question fans around the world will ask. Who will walk out of Portland as the winner and possible contender for the UFC Heavyweight Champion? Will it be Couture or will it be Nogueira? In just a few days, all the questions regarding this fight will finally be answered with one man taking a step closer to heavyweight immortality.