Randy Couture looks to bounce back verses Brandon Vera at UFC 105 in England.
The 46 year old Couture (16-10) is a former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, and will be making his return to the 205 lb weight class after fighting the last
2 ½ years as a heavyweight. His last bout as a light heavyweight was a loss to Chuck Liddell at UFC 57 in February 2006. The mixed martial arts icon, fighting out of Las Vegas, is on a quest for an unprecedented sixth world championship in the UFC.
“I would love to be a six-time UFC champion, to set the bar very high in that regard, and that’s what I want to accomplish at 205 lbs,” said Couture. “That is my immediate goal. I am very intrigued by the current light heavyweight division, there are some great matchups for me here, and I believe I have to tools to win back the light heavyweight title.”
Couture, who grew up in Lynwood, WA, was an All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State and a three-time alternate on the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team. He has competed in a record 15 title fights, and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2006. Couture’s most recent championship reign was in the UFC’s heavyweight division, a title he captured with a dominating performance over Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in March 2007.
Fighting out of San Diego, CA, Vera is 11-3 in his mixed martial arts career and is trying to win his third consecutive fight. He most recently snapped the six-fight winning streak of the highly-rated Krzysztof Soszynski with a unanimous decision victory at UFC 102 in August. Prior to that bout, Vera dismantled Michael Patt at UFC 96 with a series of brutal leg-strikes which led to a second round TKO victory.
Now Vera says he is ready to take on an all time great and begin carving his own legend in the UFC as he continues his ascent towards the light heavyweight title. “It will be an honor and a privilege to fight a living legend like Randy Couture. He has been someone that I have looked up to and I can’t wait to get in there and fight in November,” he said.
The UFC 105 co-feature is a welterweight showdown as native Englishman Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy (22-6) meets Mike Swick (14-2-0) inside the Octagon™. Hardy will be looking to remain perfect in the UFC and win his fourth straight bout, while Swick tries to extend his winning streak in the UFC to five in a fight that could vault the winner into number one contender status in the 170 lb division.
Also on the card is a matchup with huge implications in the middleweight division between the UK’s own Michael “The Count” Bisping (17-2-0) and Canadian Dennis Kang (32-11-1), a bout pitting “The Ultimate Fighter: US vs UK” welterweight division winner James Wilks (7-2-0) and the always exciting Matt “The Immortal” Brown (12-7-0), and a fight between “The Ultimate Fighter: US vs UK” lightweight division winner Ross Pearson and Aaron Riley.
Weak main event but a easy win for randy
We’ll see. I’d like to think it’s an easy win for Randy too, but Vera is weird. Lately he’s had a hard time getting into any kind of serious rhythm, and he looks afraid to let his hands go. A guy like Randy, who likes to clinch up and bully guys around might be a bad match-up for him. On the other hand though, Brandon Vera is actually one of the most skilled fighters around right now. He is lightyears better than we’ve seen. By all rights, he should’ve beat Jardine’s ass. He’s really technical, but for some reason, he’s too tentative to really be effective.
i really have to give it to cotoure but if vera lands a head kick it could be night night or a knee straight down the pipe.raging bull you say it’s a weak main event,it is and isnt.it’s going to be a very tasty fight and a up and cummer taling on a legend and former champion so i think it’s main event slot but i would have liked and think ufc could have put another co-main event on there because bisping vs kang isnt to me.im looking forward to the card,full of explosive bouts,i can tell you half the card will end in tko or ko for sure.
I think Kang will probably edge a decision over Bisping, either that or TKO him in the second or third round. Kang is a bad dude and he has heavy hands, so I hope he comes into this fight with his head screwed on his shoulders right. I’m tired of seeing him get submitted because of dumb mistakes he makes. If any of you guys saw his fight with Mousasi in DREAM, he basically put his head and arm between Mousasi’s legs for the triangle and said “Oh, here you go…”. Then, he did it again with Belcher, whipped the guy’s ass the whole first round, and left his neck out for the choke in the second. I think Bisping is going to want to stand with him, so I don’t think he has to worry too much about that, but he still needs to be on his game.
And yes, Randy really has to watch where his head’s at in this fight. Vera is definately the superior striker, and will KO Randy if he gets the right combo. He’s got punches, kicks, and knees that can knock a fool out, so Randy needs to be careful. Vera is quick too, you wouldn’t know it from his last three fights, but he’s quick and he’s got the skills that’ll put a motherfucker down.
True story…i wanna see the”Real” Dennis Kang…Randy all day…Vera doesn’t show up anymore!!!
Seems like this could be a real crossroads fight for Vera. If he gets beaten by Couture, its back to the bottom yet again, and how many more times can he work his way back up?
Brandon definitely has good skills, but Randy is the epitiome of the wily veteran, still tough as nails at 46, and he’s been fighting bigger, stronger guys at heavyweight. I think Vera will enjoy a speed advantage in the striking game, but he’s got to be able to pull the trigger. If Couture shoots successfully and ties Vera up on the ground, could pose some serious problems for a guy who is known in MMA primarily for his standup game, although Vera also has a background in wrestling.
Thinking if Vera can stand in and use his leg kicks, while concentrating on takedown defense and staying off of his back, he’ll have a good chance, but Randy has shocked the MMA world more than once in the past, and could absolutely do so again.
i just still have to go with randy on this,vera looked very good in his last 2 fights though.