randy couture vs tim sylvia?

[bass]

just been announced that randy couture is coming out of retirement to face tim sylvia for the heavyweight belt.. thoughts?

i dont think its such a great matchup for couture.. id say he has a very very decent chance of somehow taking the belt, but hes going to have his hands full getting past the jab defense of sylvia.. i think if couture can somehow get inside, he will take him down a little easier than jeff monson did, and then, i think couture might just be able to submit him.. he competed at the pro sub wrestling event in california a few months ago, and went to a draw with renaldo jacare souza, who is one of the best grapplers in the world.. so id say coutures ground skills are still top notch.. plus if you factor in the elbows and punches he can throw, i think sylvia could be in trouble.. but first couture has to get past the jabs.. just thinking about it frustrates me.. i can already see the fight in my head, and all i see is tim sylvia hobbling around for 5 rounds like he does, and never throwing anything but jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab overhand jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab jab.. it makes me angry.. but anyway.. i always go with the underdog if i think he has something, and couture definatley has something.. so.. couture by TKO (GnP, ref stoppage) round 3..

 

[maniactickler]

Tim will handle him.

 

[Snail Shell]

1. Takedowns - Couture was able to get inside, take down, keep down and ultimately crush Chuck Liddell. You can do that to Liddell, you can do that to anyone.

2. Standup - Sylvia is definately the more powerful striker, but not the better technical striker. Couture was able to out class Liddell technically in both the first and third fights. He was countered only by Liddell's power, but Sylvia isn't as good a striker as Liddell.

3. Conditioning - This is the only area besides power that Sylvia has on Couture. He's what, 14 years younger? And he'll have some 40 pounds on Couture.

To conclude, it's going to be size and strength vs. experience and techincal prowess. If Couture wins, it'll be on the ground, probably by submission. If Sylvia wins, it'll be by decision. Personally, I can't stand Sylvia. I have absolutely no respect for a fighter who claims to be the greatest ever and who says he'll never be beat and gets booed for doing nothing in 3 of his last 4 fights. It'll be an interesting fight, but I support Couture all the way.

Snail Shell

 

[shhhhh99999]

its gotta go to captain America

 

[bass]

1. Takedowns - Couture was able to get inside, take down, keep down and ultimately crush Chuck Liddell. You can do that to Liddell, you can do that to anyone.

2. Standup - Sylvia is definately the more powerful striker, but not the better technical striker. Couture was able to out class Liddell technically in both the first and third fights. He was countered only by Liddell's power, but Sylvia isn't as good a striker as Liddell.

3. Conditioning - This is the only area besides power that Sylvia has on Couture. He's what, 14 years younger? And he'll have some 40 pounds on Couture.

To conclude, it's going to be size and strength vs. experience and techincal prowess. If Couture wins, it'll be on the ground, probably by submission. If Sylvia wins, it'll be by decision. Personally, I can't stand Sylvia. I have absolutely no respect for a fighter who claims to be the greatest ever and who says he'll never be beat and gets booed for doing nothing in 3 of his last 4 fights. It'll be an interesting fight, but I support Couture all the way.

Snail Shell

haha i was waiting to see what you had to say.. good analysis.. i agree with pretty much everything you said.. i was just thinking about it this morning on my way to work, and i definately see it being a submission victory, as opposed to what i said earlier of the 3rd round ref stoppage.. i think that it still may play out that way, but a submission seems more likely.. maybe randy will snap tim's arm or something, so he will HAVE to take some time off.. im with you on the whole not being able to stand him thing.. i almost dont even want to watch the fight, but i am going to to see couture.. if it played out to be sylvia vs gonzaga like they had rumored, i would definately not watch it.. napao is a good fighter, but nowhere near champion caliber.. it just showed me how truly pathetic the heavyweight division was (not that i didnt already know that..)

but yea, like you said.. i guess if he was able to take chuck down and man handle him, he shouldnt have a problem with sylvia.. or not a problem he cant overcome anyway.. its going to hit the ground, and sylvia is either going to get his face pounded in or get submitted..

******************************

and as opposed to making a whole new thread about this, ill just put it here since the people that read this thread are obviously into MMA.. i have a lot of fighters as 'friends' on myspace, and ive had the pleasure of talking to a great many of them.. such as evan tanner, kenny florian, dan henderson, sam hoger, luigi fioravanti, jon koppenhaver, lodune sincaid, tyson griffin, joe lauzon, mario rinaldi, thomas denny, justin levens, and alot more.. they have all been really nice guys and ive spoken with some of them on many occasions.. such as kenflo, hes my boy, i dont care what you say..

so point being this.. last night i spoke to one of my personal favorite fighters, matt horwich.. if you dont know him, you should.. great fighter, great person.. definately one of the best in the 185 class.. so anyway, i have front row tickets to the IFL show that is coming to florida in april, so basically i told matt that he is going to have to come find me so we can get a picture and shit.. and i was expecting him to be like ok sure ill come find you or whatever.. but instead he says "just gimme a call on my cell phone when i get there, itll be rad to hang out".. so not only will i be sitting front row for an IFL show (renzo gracie, matt lindland, don frye, and carlos newtons teams), but i will get the opportunity to meet and hang out with matt horwich.. and that means possibly meeting and hanging out with the rest of his team also, possibly ryan schultz, chris wilson, and of course.. mr matt lindland.. so im pretty fucking stoked.. even if i just meet horwich, im fucking stoked.. itll be kind of weird to just call him up and be like hey man.. haha

 

[Snail Shell]

That show'll be pretty sweet man. Most fighters are pretty nice guys if you treat them like human beings instead like gods. Rampage is the same way. I got to chat with Carlos Newton at a martial arts expo and had an informal no-striking match with him (he ran a clinic on me).

Have fun dude!

Snail Shell

 

[bass]

That show'll be pretty sweet man. Most fighters are pretty nice guys if you treat them like human beings instead like gods. Rampage is the same way. I got to chat with Carlos Newton at a martial arts expo and had an informal no-striking match with him (he ran a clinic on me).

Have fun dude!

Snail Shell

oh yea, i never go to them as a 'fanboy'.. just one guy who enjoys the sport to another.. like ive asked kenny florian about a few techniques i was a little confused on, and he cleared it up for me.. i asked justin levens about the rumor of him retiring, and he cleared that up for me.. i just talk to them.. i would never try to talk to one of them and be like OH MY GOD YOU ARE SO GREAT and blah blah blah.. im just excited about meeting horwich, and on a much more personal basis than i expected.. ive been watching his career for like.. 3 years.. plus im sitting in the 'gold circle' seating section, whatever that means.. i figure ill run into plenty of people.. maybe even get to meet renzo or carlos or whoever else happens to be there.. itll be a great time.. i cant wait

 

[ShiningIce]

Couture is a Greco-Roman wrestler correct? I don't see him doing an upper-body take down on Sylvia. Tim has heavy hands and a looooooooong reach. Randy has his work cut out for him. There was a REASON he dropped to 205.

 

[bass]

Couture is a Greco-Roman wrestler correct? I don't see him doing an upper-body take down on Sylvia. Tim has heavy hands and a looooooooong reach. Randy has his work cut out for him. There was a REASON he dropped to 205.

yea randys base is greco-roman wrestling, and it would be hard to get any sort of upper-body takedown on tim, but if he can close the distance, he can work with it.. even if he can clinch him up against the fence, he can work some knees and elbows and body shots (nobody ever uses body shots..) and wear tim down, and maybe eventually get the single or double leg takedown.. or maybe even utilize something else like a judo throw or something.. either way, tim wont be able to use his jab defense, so maybe he will actually fight this time.. tim had decent ground skills against jeff monson, but he also had a whole 12 inches on him.. he still has like 6 or 7 on randy, but thats not as bad.. and as incredible of a grappler that jeff monson is, i dont think his wrestling is as good as couture.. so as long as randy can get inside and close the distance, i think he has a very good shot.. plus, i think tim will be lost without his jab..

 

[Snail Shell]

That's going to be the question of the fight. Can Couture get inside, get down and keep down Sylvia? I'm not saying it'll be easy for him, but I think it's certainly within his ability.

Snail Shell

 

[Snail Shell]

That's going to be the question of the fight. Can Couture get inside, get down and keep down Sylvia? I'm not saying it'll be easy for him, but I think it's certainly within his ability.

Snail Shell

 

[CurtWild]

randy had trouble with bigger dudes when he was younger so i don`t think he`ll fair to well here....

there are always the what ifs...
what if he gets inside
what if he gets the takedown

but i just don`t see it happening....as much as i`d like it to.