medium bets for these:
couture -160
marquardt -163
duffee -140
simpson +119
i see couture as the bernard hopkins of mma. both emphasize maintaining a narrow weight range, year round conditioning and technique. neither guy has suffered a lot damage in their career either.
i don't see guys who follow that formula getting old overnight, they usually lose it slowly. guys who get old overnight are those who rely on such things as durability or athleticism.
i think it's evident that nogueira's over reliance on his chin has put him on a precipitous decline.
he had a knee injury and was recovering from a staph infection vs. mir, so without those problems he should have better endurance vs. couture, however, his brain won't be better. in fact, it should be worse after the beating he took from mir.
also, rumor is that he's been koed while sparring boxing at roach's gym. my bet isn't based on the rumor, but it makes feel more secure.
i don't feel like writing much more, but as far as my other bets, marquardt and simpson are better wrestlers and strikers than their opponents and duffee is huge and relentless.
