Operation Rio: Brendan Schaub UFC 134 Video Blog (Part 4)
Posted on August 11, 2011, 04:04 PM by Joey SantosusRising Heavyweight contender Brendan "The Hybrid" Schaub continues with his "Operation Rio" video blog ahead of his UFC 134 showdown with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Schaub prepares for the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black-belt by rolling with fellow Grudge training partner Nate Marquardt.
The TUF 10 runner-up will look to establish his place "in the mix" by extending his current win streak to five when he meets Nogueira in August. The landmark card will be headlined by a Middleweight title clash between division Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva and challenger Yushin "Thunder" Okami and will mark the promotion's first trip back to Brazil since 1998.
Further Reading: Operation Rio: Brendan Schaub UFC 134 Video Blog (Part 3)
Comments
As much as I would hate to see a legend like Nogueira lose in his home country, I will be rooting for Schaub in this one. He definitely has the striking skills, power and athleticism to pose major problems for Nog standing up, but no matter how much work he is putting in on the ground, he does not want the fight to go there. I think he will be able to avoid the ground game and KO the legend at some point in this fight.
I admire Brendan's confidence. He's been calling the top guys in the UFC, and was successful in "crushing" some heavy hitters...He'll definitely be in the mix for a title shot, if he can beat Big Nog. A "KO" will place him at top of the food chain, though not yet (I think) in the top 10...Given his young career, Brendan still has to prove himself against the best...
Brendan Shaub vs Matt Mitrione??
It would be a cool fight, but I think Schaub is a little higher up the ladder right now. Gonzaga and Cro Cop are much bigger names than anybody Mitrione has fought. It would make more sense if he loses to Nog.
And they may not want to eliminate an up and coming contender. They've done this in situations such as Bones vs Bader, but with the HW division being as thin as it is, they need all of the homegrown talent they can muster up.
I hope i'm wrong but i think that Shaub will run straight through Big Nog, he has tried to get back into training to0 quickly after 2 major surgeries, in reality i think he should of added another 6 months to his post recovery training. All that said, Nog is equal with saku as having the greatest heart in mma history, my favourite fighter, I hope he wins, anything is possible, but of late we have seen younger fresher guys taking out the older more experienced and technical fighters, so I tip Shaub for the win..
Maybe after this one .. Schaub will finally fight somebody under retirement age.