UFC 102 turned out to be one of most entertaining UFC events of the year. Texans can only hope UFC 103 this month in Dallas delivers as much excitement as the Portland, Oregon event.

In the Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia matchup, only one strike was landed in the 21 second affair. One straight right is all it took for for Marquardt to take out the one dimensional world Jiu-Jitsu champion.

With this victory there's some uncertainty on who'll get to fight Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title. Marquardt and Dan Henderson are both on three fight winning steaks and both are near the top of the middleweight rankings. The two have also faced off against Silva before and have lost.

It's a no brainer on who should get the first shot though. Dan Henderson should be rewarded that opportunity.

The main reason Henderson should get the shot first is because he looked terrific in his first battle against Silva. He actually won the first round of the fight before Silva subdued him with a rear naked choke in the second round.

In sharp contrast, Marquardt was completely outmatched and obliterated by Silva when they met up. Henderson left fans with a feeling that he could defeat the seemingly indomitable Silva. Marquardt didn',t which makes a Silva vs. Henderson rematch far more compelling.

The "Who Are These Guys?" awards from UFC 102 go to middleweight, Aaron "A-Train" Simpson and heavyweight, Todd Duffee. The relatively unknown Simpson displayed some amazing speed and aggressiveness in his two round shellacking of Ed Herman. Simpson's fighting style was very reminiscent of another dynamic UFC fighter, Matt Brown.

Duffee broke the UFC record for quickest victory with his seven second knockout of Tim Hague. The 6-3, 251-pound, chiseled Duffee represents a new breed of heavyweight fighters who are supremely fit, yet sit toward the top end of the 206-265 lb. heavyweight range.

At only 23 years of age, Duffee has yet to grow into his man frame, so top heavyweights like Brock Lesnar should take heed. He'll have guys like this to contend with in the years ahead as more pure athletes join the MMA pool.

Speaking of age, the main event featured Randy "The Natural" Couture who at 46 is exactly twice the age of Duffee. Couture went the distance against former PRIDE heavyweight champion, Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira. The three-round battle was a captivating chess match between two of the best, most seasoned mixed martial artists to ever participate in the sport.

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Nogueira is arguably the best heavyweight submission artist on the planet. He came close to defeating Couture with a varity of submission techniques -- an anaconda choke, a guillotine, and an arm triangle choke. Randy Couture was resilient and skilled enough to fight off the attacks and even mount an offensive at times.

Nogueira won all three rounds and the bout itself, but fans of Couture felt much fulfillment with his defensive display and refusal to submit to a world class submission artist like Nogueira.

The seasoned Nogueira is now a possible heavyweight contender for the title belt that Brock Lesnar now owns. Nogueira brings to mind the old adage, "It's not the age it's the mileage." Fans could see the extra digits on Nogueira's odometer when he was standing next to his identical twin brother who obviously had taken many less hits over the years.

At the post-fight press conference Randy Couture quelled any speculation of him leaving the UFC. He announced he re-signed a new 28 month, six fight contract with the organization. This effectively means the UFC hall of famer will end his career in the UFC.

The good news is that Couture's not washed up and he still has a lot of fight left in him. "Give up" is just not in this man's vocabulary be it with his stellar career or staving off an opponent inside the Octagon.

David Estrada Jr. is a Mixed Martial Arts columnist for the Port Arthur News. He can be e-mailed at DavidEstrada@DavidEstrada.com