"The Half-Guarded Truth"
By: Mike Coughlin
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"Waiting for Good Fight"
I cannot wait. UFC PPVs are always a big deal to me. I love the sport. I wish there was a major show every weekend. Not just a major show, any show will do. I want more and more and more. But this Saturday's PPV in particular has me more excited than anything in a long long time. And for one reason: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fights Cain Velasquez.
I want to watch this fight not write about it. I like to write columns trying to present a different side of things. My radio show, Five Star Radio, provides all the insight I have to offer, all the picks, all the fight breakdowns. I usually like to let my columns be something else. I want to find the deeper, grander, more meaningful story. I want to paint a picture in words of a scene to come, or having already passed. But not this time. There is an incredible story to be told, of a next generation ground and pound specialist taking on the most accomplished submission artist in heavyweight history; of Nogueira making another run at a title, reinventing himself against Couture and proving to the world that he may be down but is never out; of Velasquez never disappointing no matter how large the hype grows, no matter the expectations unfairly thrown his way. I don't care. I don't care who wins or loses. I just want to watch this fight.
I want to watch the most relentless heavyweight I have ever seen dance inside Nogueira's guard for 15 minutes. Velasquez comes forward, never showing an ounce of respect for what his opponents can offer, and personifying the definition of "imposing your will." He takes people down and from the moment their back hits the mat he is unleashes a flurry of punches; a dam breaks and the floodwaters are angry at being kept at bay and now they will not stop until everything in their path is nothingness. And should a foe try to scramble, Velasquez reaction is borderline sadistic. He locks his hands around their waist and waits for them to use just enough energy to stand only to slam them back down. He is a cat toying with a mouse with a broken leg.
I want to watch the most versatile and perhaps most accomplished heavyweight of all time show the world why. With the possible exception of Royce Gracie, no guard on MMA history has been as revered as Nogueira's. It is effective at sweeping, tapping, and defending against people. It is everything the guard is supposed to be. It enabled Nogueira to survive the onslaught of Bob Sapp ground and pound. It allowed him to sweep Tim Sylvia and set up a guillotine choke. It led to submissions over Mark Coleman and Mirko CroCop. Fighters, more often then not unsuspecting wrestlers, slowly wade in and for a time feel safe. They are not. Nogueira is waiting waiting patiently waiting. The wrestler moves and feels safe. He is not. He throws a punch and doesn't get submitted, he feels safer. He is not. After a minute or two he begins to think that the hype isn't justified that the old man doesn't have it anymore that years of abuse have caught up to the Brazilian and that he can do what he wants because he's younger and stronger and faster and better and he'll never be tapped because he is safe. He is not. He doesn't even know what danger he's found himself in. And that's when Nogueira kills. Sandtrap, Venus flytrap, boa constrictor. Nature has a number of tools for this job, MMA has Nogueira.
I want to watch these two collide and I cannot imagine it will not be special. Two aggressive to the point of reckless fighters with more talent than is fair will stand across from one another. The cage door will lock, the referee will signal, the bell will ring, and then they will begin. They will clash and they will spar and they will not give an inch and they will each take a mile. On Saturday, they will fight.
I cannot wait.
Mike Coughlin is the host of Five Star Radio. Your weekly look at all things MMA, it really doesn't happen every week but close enough that we can pretend. Also, no Australia references in this column. That's a positive.
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