Fighting Stances' preview of UFC 102 continues with a look at the top of the card.  Co-main event: Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine vs. Thiago Silva  Few, if any, fighters combine aggression and ground control like Silva does, and his hell-bent-for-leather approach could work against The Dean of Mean. Quinton Jackson, Wanderlei Silva and Houston Alexander beat Jardine by getting close and landing punches before he could circle away to get into position for his odd-angle punches and low kicks. In fact, Jardine blames his UFC 96 loss to Jackson on a failure to disengage properly.  "I exited wrong a lot," Jardine told me. "I'd throw my combinations, and I would exit with my hands in the wrong place, and he would recoil and come through with punches."  But he also has beaten straight-ahead guys before -- see Forrest Griffin for details -- and Jardine realizes that Silva suffered his first loss earlier this year by walking into Lyoto Machida's punches. Jardine is a far cry from Machida, but he counters well with his own strikes, employs a decent takedown defense and gets back to his feet very well when he does find himself on the ground.  Overall, Jardine is the best fighter that Silva has faced with the exception of Machida.  Jardine also comes off a narrow defeat, and he's never lost two in a row. Much of that has to do with the fact that his rebound opponents simply aren't as good as the men who beat him, but it's also a testament to Jardine's ability to quickly shake off setbacks and refocus.  There's no reason to think it's any different this time. It's hard to argue that Silva is in the same class as Jackson, whom Jardine did outpoint on one judge's scorecard.  Main event: Randy "The Natural" Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira  Yes, we know: This fight should have happened sometime between 2002 and 2004.  Nonetheless, it remains a compelling match-up because they're still near the top. You'd be hard pressed to find more than five heavyweights who would be betting favorites over Couture or Nogueira.  The fact that it's taking place now instead of six years ago swings the balance in Couture's favor.  Couture used to be a one-dimensional grinder who used Greco-Roman wrestling and dirty boxing to win battles of attrition. Now he's one of the most complete heavyweights in mixed martial arts, thanks to improvements in his striking.  He first showed decent MMA hands in 2003, using punches to keep Chuck Liddell guessing and set up takedowns. He showed his next evolution in 2007 against Tim Sylvia -- Couture used constant head movement to avoid jab and fired inside low kicks that opened Sylvia's stance so Couture could clinch with him. Couture looked even sharper later that year against Gabriel Gonzaga, a man who had finished off Mirko Filipovic on the feet just a few months earlier.  Lesnar dropped Couture with a punch in November, but Nogueira is no Lesnar. Nogueira arguably isn't even Nogueira any more --his raw physical abilities appear to have declined as much as Couture's skills have improved.  Nogueira has become leaner -- he weighed in yesterday at 231 pounds, 15 pounds lighter than he was against Frank Mir in December -- and claims he's in his best condition since the Pride days. Even if that's true, it's not necessarily comforting; the last time Nogueira made a big deal out of losing weight was before his December 2004 match-up with Fedor Emelianenko, who proceeded to pummel Nogueira for 20 minutes.  Never the quickest fighter on the feet to begin with, Nogueira has looked progressively more sluggish every UFC fight, which suggests that the loss to Mir reflects a trend, rather than a one-time staph infection and bad knee, as the Brazilian camp claims.  Although Couture is 13 years the senior in calendar years, they have almost the same number of years fighting. Couture had his first professional MMA bout in May 1997, Nogueira in June 1999.  Nogueira also endured more fights overall. Couture has had three lengthy layoffs and hasn't fought more than twice a year since the end of 2001, so it's no surprise that Nogueira, fighting at least three times annually until 2007, has a dozen more professional fights than his 46-year-old opponent. Nogueira's habit of being a human Timex has only accelerated his physical decline.  The style match-up doesn't help Nogueira. Couture is the better wrestler by a wide margin and is probably faster with strikes, based on their performances against their one shared opponent, Tim Sylvia -- Couture often beat Sylvia to the punch, while Nogueira often could not.  Nogueira's submission skills are legendary, but Couture is a careful fighter who is unlikely to put himself in situations where he has to worry about being caught. Nogueira will pounce on any mistakes, but if any fighter can avoid making them for 15 minutes, it's Couture.  The natural need do nothing more than replicate his plan against Gonzaga: Keep the other guy against the fence and break him down for three rounds to get a decision or late technical knockout.  REMINDER: Join us tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET for our play-by-play coverage of the UFC 102 broadcast. Click here.  READERS: Give us your predictions for Jardine-Silva and Couture-Nogueira. Also: Check out our earlier previews of the UFC card here and here.
UFC 102 preview: Couture, Jardine have edge - MMA Fighting Stances: Mixed martial arts intelligence from the cage and ring - USATODAY.com