Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Is a Battle For Legacies

By the time Wanderlei Silva fought Chuck Liddell at UFC 79, both he and Liddell's best days were behind them. One would think that should impact the way in which the results of their battle will be viewed in the future. That said, in the end we're often left with statistics. The statistic on that fight will indicate that "The Iceman" won and "The Axe Murderer" lost, and 30 years from now there's a chance that will be the simple legacy future generations will be left with. When Ken Shamrock took on Royce Gracie at UFC 1 and lost, the fight meant more than perhaps either combatant knew at the time. Sure you can make an argument that Shamrock became a better fighter than Gracie later in his career, even if some might not believe it to be true. But the bottom line is that legacies were forever changed by that Gracie rear naked choke way back in 1993.

So when Randy Couture takes on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a battle of legends at UFC 102, the bottom line is that legacies will be impacted. These two were huge stars in their respective organizations years ago (Couture in the UFC, Nogueira in PRIDE). Everyone always wondered who might win if they got in a tussle. Are they the same fighters they once were? Probably not. But that doesn't always matter when it comes to legacies.

This is a very important fight for the history books, folks.