“I think I deserve a chance to fight Randy Couture,” were the words of newly-crowned UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira.

“Today I got the belt, with a very hard fight, but if Couture can give me the chance to fight against him, I will be ready.”

After a surprise comeback win in front of a crowd of 10,500 tonight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, submitting former two-time UFC champ Tim Sylvia after two punishing rounds, Nogueira was crowned interim champ.

The man with the real belt, however, remains Randy Couture.

The problem?

Couture is busy with a different fight—a legal one—with the UFC.

“We’d like to see Nogueira defend his title against Randy Couture,” said UFC President Dana White. “We want to find out who the real champion is. So I expect ‘Captain America’ to step up to the plate and give Nogueira the chance.

“When Couture got knocked out by [Chuck] Liddell, at light heavyweight, I gave him the opportunity to fight for the heavyweight title, to fight Tim Sylvia. So I expect him to honor his contract. I don’t think I’m asking anything outrageous or ridiculous. He signed a contract a year ago and got a signing bonus.”

It may be up to the lawyers to decide, so until Couture is stripped or that fight is no longer a possibility, a future opponent Nogueira, now the only champion to hold both Pride FC and UFC belts, will remain a mystery.

His face a mess of purple welts, bruises and cuts, Nogueira showed the punishment he received in a fight that he was badly losing—until he was able to slip in the guillotine.

“He has very heavy hands and great reach,” Nogueira said of Sylvia. “It was my plan to grab and get close, but he always kept me away. I just waited for my chance.”

For most of the bout, Nogueira was dominated by the former champion by endless right hands and jabs.

“He takes a beating and keeps on ticking,” said a disappointed Sylvia. “I was just two second behind him when he hit me quick with that guillotine. I got lazy and he pulled a sleeper right on top of me.

“I hate jiu jitsu! I think it’s pretty safe to say that Nogueira is the best in the world, and Frank Mir, second.”

Though losing the fight, Sylvia thought he came out on the winning side, for once, when it came to popularity.

“Wow,” exclaimed Sylvia. “I was amazed at the weigh-in when they were cheering me, not booing me. It feels great. Hopefully, the fans will stick by me. I think they’re finally getting to know me.”

Mir moves closer to title shot

In the co-main, also a turn-around fight, though much shorter, former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir endured former WWE and NCAA wrestler, Octagon newcomer Brock Lesner, before he could slip in and submit the much bigger, stronger brute.

“I admit, I was not winning the first 1:20,” said Mir. “But I wasn’t worried about the fight being stopped. I was moving around a lot, I was looking for the submission.

“I knew he was going to be stronger and bigger, but I did not prepare for his quickness. It really blew my mind and I almost chuckled to myself, thinking, ‘And he’s fast, too?’”

Brock kept his composure at the press conference, shrugging off the loss as a learning experience.

“I don’t like to lose,” he admitted. “But maybe I gained a little credibility there in the minute and a half. There’s no shame in losing.

“Of course, I’m very disappointed I lost. I thought I’d win this bout and I trained hard. But I plan on continuing. I’m gonna go home, do some ice fishing, spend time with the family, and get back on the horse. This was not a one-shot deal.”

Until he was submitted, Lesnar was dominating the fight.

“The question we all had going into the fight was, ‘Can Brock fight?’” said White.

“Yes, he can. He came in to the Octagon with one MMA fight, and we told him, there are no easy guys in the UFC. He was up against a former champ, but I think he answered the question. All the guys around me, they were saying, this guy can be good some day.”

Lesnar’s next opponent has not yet been considered, though Sylvia is a possibility for Mir.

Etcetera

White announced the bonuses of the night: The KO of the night belonged to Chris Lytle; submission of the night went to Frank Mir; and fighters of the night went to Sylvia and Nogueira. All received an extra $60,000.

. . . .

“I’ll fight whoever I have to, to get back to a title fight,” said Nate Marquardt, who is coming off a loss to UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.

On the undercard, Marquardt submitted MMA veteran Jeremy Horn with a guillotine at 1:37 of the second round.

“I always do better coming off a loss. That loss lit a fire under me and showed me what I need to do.”

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