One interesting element of this fight is that it will be the UFC's first trip to Portland, Oregon. Couture spent much of his life in the Pacific Northwest. In an interview posted on www.ONPDX.com, Couture was asked if the experience of fighting in his home state of Oregon would in any way change the fight for him. “No, I don't think so," Couture answered. "I'm excited about being here. I grew up in Seattle and lived here in Oregon for a long time. You know, it's still just another fight. Nogueira, it doesn't matter where it happens, poses some interesting problems so I'll focus on that. Having the crowd roaring will just make it all the better.”

Both fighters are coming off of losses so the pressure to win in this fight will be especially intense. In a battle against current undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, Couture was at a significant size disadvantage with Lesnar outweighing him by forty-five pounds. It was a battle of two elite wrestlers but proved to be a bad matchup for the Natural as he was stopped in the second round by TKO. Minotauro's luck wasn't any better in his December fight against Frank Mir. Nogueira was stopped for the first time in his career in the second round via TKO.

At 46 years old, Couture probably doesn't have many fights left. Over the past two years, he has expressed his interest in fighting Fedor Emelianenko, the man that many consider to be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Emelianenko has refused to sign a deal with the UFC because he feels that the UFC contract is unfair. When asked if fighting Fedor is a fight that Randy still wants, he replied, “Obviously. I think it's been a fight that I've strived for--for a long time. I've been pretty vocal about wanting to compete against him. We'll see. I'm not going to hold my breath.”