Randy "The Natural" Couture and Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira are set to clash at UFC 102 in a little over a week at the Rose Garden in Couture's old backyard, Portland, Oregon. Both men are legends. Nogueira reigned on top of the PRIDE heavyweight division for a lengthy amount of time before Fedor Emelianenko came along, and Couture won multiple titles within the UFC at both heavyweight and light heavyweight. While the fight would have had a lot more meaning when both men were in their prime, the imminent showdown has the possibility of being a true war that fans will remember for a long time.

While the age of both combatants has gained a lot of attention from fans, this fight raises other questions that will be answered on August 29th. Most notably, will Randy Couture continue to hang with the top level of competition in the UFC heavyweight division at the age of 46 years old? Couture is obviously going to be the next Jack Lalanne in his older age, but right now -- can he continue defeating top talent in his upper 40's?

The question on everyone's mind regarding Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is whether or not he actually has the skills to win at the top of the division. His past performance against Frank Mir at UFC 92 hinted at the potential degradation of that skill-set. Luckily for fans, it seems that Nogueira is back on track:

He’s made Los Angeles his home for the past three months, working MMA at Black House and sharpening his hands with boxing guru Freddie Roach. He brought in Greco Roman wrestlers to simulate Couture’s approach.

"We did a lot of cage work, a lot of everything I train for my fights, like boxing, a lot of Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu," said Nogueira. "He’s a normal size, so I didn’t have anyone special for him. I have about three or four guys the same size as him."

He says he’s in the best shape since his peak years in Pride. And against Couture, a conditioning machine, he’s counting on his hard work to keep him fresh in later rounds.

"I know the endurance part is a very important part of his game, so I worked very hard on mine to face (Couture)," he said. "I think both fighters are gonna be in good shape."

These are some solid changes to Nogueira's routine, and the boxing aspect of this bout could ultimately be the deciding factor for a Nogueira win. It isn't any secret that Couture's advantage comes in the clinch against the fence, and Nogueira's boxing could be the key in keeping Couture at bay. While I think Nogueira is the man who needs to bring his endurance up to Couture's level in this fight, it's nice to see the man back at 100%.

Unfortunately, some fans would still consider Nogueira the underdog due to his monumental beat down he sustained at UFC 92. While a lot of debate surrounding the event comes down to arguments that include "everyone fights at less than 100%" and "Mir's stand-up was just that good", I still don't see the reasoning behind the idea of throwing Nogueira under the bus after that showdown.

"Everyone fights at less than 100%" is still a ridiculous argument to this day, and I know there are plenty of fans who believe it. The fact of the matter is that the condition of the fighters is ALWAYS an aspect of the fight that matters. Any fighter in the upper-echelon of the division fighting at 50-75% has a huge disadvantage, and for anyone to actually state that it's just part of the sport -- it still has a major impact on the outcome of the fight. With Nogueira and Couture both looking great coming into the week before UFC 102, we can finally answer the questions we need answered... without any doubt.