Even in highlight footage, it’s easy to tell where Couture’s natural strengths and comfort zones are within the dimensions of the MMA game. He also appears to be slightly bigger than the lean frame he employed against Lesnar at UFC 91.
Still, I’m looking to Couture to employ something of a similar gameplan to Mir: strike with Nogueira, make him miss using low and high combinations, speed and distancing. Unlike Mir, however, I suspect Couture will spend time in Nogueira’s guard stuffing submissions, passing to half guard and working GNP.
Fedor and Couture don’t have similar ground and pound attacks (as an obvious example, Fedor never uses elbows while elbows are central to Couture’s arsenal), but Stephen Quadros was correct when he said Emelianenko wrote the blueprint on how to defeat Nogueira from within his guard. I’m betting Couture observed and has integrated those lessons.
HT: Cage Potato
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