The UFC kicks off the first of back-to-back fight card weekends this Saturday as UFC 105 takes place in Manchester, England. The fight card is filled with local UK talent and TUF alumni and is headlined by none other than “Father Time”, Randy Couture.
Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera – The smart money in the Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera matchup, would most likely be on Randy Couture.
Couture has the edge in experience, game-planning, and wrestling control. The question that will continue to remain with Couture, however, is how much does he have left in the tank? Couture is now 46, and has once again dropped down to light heavyweight to test the waters.
Brandon Vera is probably the standup fighter in this matchup, with a strong background in Muay Thai and decent boxing. Couture has always been a solid striker, but never stood out as a great standup guy.
The deciding factors for me in this matchup will be Brandon Vera’s conditioning and Vera’s groundwork. If Vera can keep the fight standing he should be in a good spot. When Couture is able to bring the fight to the ground as he inevitably will, Vera’s BJJ and defensive grappling will need to be strong.
While it’s clear that Vera will never fulfill the promise his early heavyweight career foreshadowed, a win over Couture would give him a big shot in the arm and perhaps bring back a bit of his confidence and swagger.
Winner: Brandon Vera
Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang – The UFC is hoping to do all they can to build up Michael Bisping in the general public’s eye after his complete embarrassment against Dan Henderson at UFC 100.
Bisping returns to his nest as he once again is fighting on home soil in England; I don’t expect him to fight outside the UK or Europe again any time soon. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Bisping and I think he has been coddled and pushed through his career in the UFC and has never done anything to show he is a top-level fighter.
Denis Kang, on the other hand, has all the tools and talent needed to be a top-level guy, but has never been able to put it all together consistently. This will be Kang’s third fight in the UFC and I really think he’ll show his true colors in this fight against Bisping as he should finally begin to find his grove inside the Octagon.
I don’t expect much in the way of fireworks in this fight, but I think Kang should easily dominate the fight en route to a decision victory.
Winner: Denis Kang
Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy – Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy has all the making of what should be fight of the night. However, as we have seen plenty of times in the past, all the pre-fight trash talking in the world doesn’t always equate to a good fight.
Mike Swick seems to have finally found his comfort zone since dropping to the welterweight division and has won his last two fights via TKO. Swick has always been known for his quickness and handspeed, and he does have the power to end fights.
Dan Hardy is a gutsy fighter who has proven resilient and hard to finish. Like Swick, Hardy’s strength lies in his striking, but with Hardy it’s less about quickness and more about power.
I expect a standup battle from these two, but have a feeling it will be one of those slow “tactical” battles that doesn’t do much to win the audience over. I’m going with Swick via decision here.
Winner: Mike Swick
James Wilks vs. Matt Brown – This fight between James Wilks and Matt Brown seems to have snuck onto the main card by a matter of default. Wilks is a TUF winner and there aren’t any other solid undercard fights (outside of the Kelly vs. Siver fight).
I don’t have much commentary on this matchup as I don’t think either fighter is really that special. I’ve got Wilks winning via decision submission in round 1.
Winner: James Wilks
Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley – Another true pick-em fight that the UFC hopes showcases Ross Pearson and pleases the hometown British crowd. Pearson is a stronger striker and brawler while Riley has the edge on the ground. If Riley can take Pearson down and keep him there, he should be able to pull off a submission. If the fight stays standing, I expect Pearson to bulldog his way to a decision victory.
Winner: Aaron Riley
Paul Taylor vs. John Hathaway – Winner: John Mathaway
Terry Etim vs. Shannon Gugerty – Winner: Shannon Gugerty
Nick Osipczak vs. Matthew Riddle – Winner: Matthew Riddle
Paul Kelly vs. Dennis Siver – Winner: Paul Kelly
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jared Hamman – Winner: Jared Hamman
Andre Winner vs. Rolando Delgado – Winner: Andre Winner
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no way randy is 6ft 2! I don’t even think he is 6 even.
u have randy doc jeeeeez u better wager something for that kind of pic
um??? no, I picked Vera
lol – what?
sorry i meant to say doc if ur picking vera u better have a wager on that
ahh, i see. yeah, i put a small wager on it
I think Randy has this one also. unless a totally different Vera shows up.
Randy for the win IMO – Hardy takes a decision on English soil, Kang might show up and finish Bisping, I hope so, because it will take an ALL OUT finish to win that, again, Bisping for the win on English soil via torrie decision.
i gotta go with Randy on this one, after thinking about it i figured with his (almost) flawless gameplanning and his ability to control things Randy just has more ways to win.
Swick should walk away the winner in his fight but i see Hardy making it a tough fight for him bell to bell.
i have Kang winning a decision because i dont think he’ll be able to catch Bisping (in the foot race lol) but i think he’ll completely outwork him.
i got Wilks submitting Brown in round two, although i like Docs prediction of a round 1 decision hehe.
Pearson unanimous decision…. i had to pick one so.
So i watched the presser, Hardy gave Swick a little consolation trophy for 2nd place in their fight. Swick promised to bring the trophy to his corner come fight night so he can give it back to him after the fight.
Hardy was also talking about his upcoming fight with GSP after this.. man oh man! this kid is getting messed up on saturday! Swick is going to destroy him with those quick hands because he knows he cant allow an english decision to happen.
So then i decide to watch part 2 of Danas video blog DONT WASTE YOUR TIME.. mostly i watch them to see behind the scenes with fighters stuff. I dont really care about Dana playing pranks on his lawyer or accountants or other clowns in his entourage. Making fun of british signs, bad jokes that only Dana is laughing at and to top it all off, Dana and Lorenzo lifting the front end of a mini cooper..
booooring….
hello dudes….long time no write….
damn doc…not to good on the predicts this time huh lol…
Ya Doc, this must have been your worst event… well, ever im thinking. Guess your out of the runnings for the fight club blueray hehe.
yeah, i did as bad as you could imagine. 16 total points and I only picked 2 fights correct.
never done this bad ever before, but even the great ones stumble sometimes
ya we all have our off events. Did you notice Randy was shamelessly holding the shorts against Vera? at first it was kind of hidden when the ref wasnt around but later in the fight he just grabbed a handful and gave Vera a wedgie. Commentators said nothing, the ref said nothing, not even Vera complained… i found that very strange.
Randy is on his last leg man .. I won the pick on his vs Vera but it wasn’t what I expected.
Randy can’t take any barrage of shots anymore.. he’s showing his age BADLY they need to stop him before he hurts himself.. kinda got worried in the 2nd round when he was catching those rib shots, I was thinking Brandon was gonna finish it, I also though that Vera won the decision but of course they gave it to Couture.
I hope Couture doesn’t fight someone like Shogun, or Machida, or A. Silva next, he will get stomped if he does.
check this PM i got on the playground. lol
From: MrMean
To: bvrasp
Subject: Hello !!
Message:
Just wanted to see if your interested in joining a larger and 100% active team? Your to good of player to be on that team … If interested leave your team and let me know and i will shoot ya a invite.
haha, nice man. you are being recruited by other teams.
i didnt realize the free agent poachers where so tough in fantasy MMA, lol.
ask him what kind of prizes his “awesome, 100% active league” gives out, lol.
lol i already did, no reply hehe
BV:
Dude I got that same message from the same guy. lol. about once a month I get asked to join other camps. one was called ohio top team. lol. I’m not going anywhere. mmahq gives out prizes for doing something I enjoy. who else does that? mmahq all the way best fight camp ever.
No doubt Banned, ive gotten other requests in the past, but its usually when you have a big event the head hunters come knocking. I had something like 48 points this past event, nothing to write home about..
but ya agreed MMAHQ FTW!!
aww man now im bummed out i never get invites to join other camps, i guess im not as awesome as i thought i was lol.
Concerning BROCK LESNAR’S SICKNESS:
Dana White –
According to the UFC President, there’s no question about it; the situation is one for concern, and there are stills questions that need answering.
“I am worried about it,” explained White. “You know, I can’t really talk about it right now, but he’s in rough shape. He’s in really bad shape. We’re going to have to do some stuff to take care of this guy. He is not well and he’s not getting any better.
“We’re going to have to send him to the Mayo Clinic or to Scripp’s, or one of those really good hospitals to figure out what’s wrong with this guy.”