UFC 105 post event analysis

Well I was way off. Out of the five main card fights, I correctly picked all of one of them. So while it was a dreadful performance by me, it certainly wasn't by the victors who included Randy Couture, Dan Hardy and Michael Bisping.

Actually, in the case of Couture, I take back the "non-dreadful performance" remark. While it wasn't quite the "Shogun robbery" of UFC 104, I have to wonder just what Couture did to earn a unanimous decision victory over Brandon Vera. Let's see: Vera opened with a combo that was more devastating than anything Couture threw all night and finished the round withstanding every Couture takedown attempt. Next round Vera drops Couture with another wicked combo that included a kick to the body. Again all Couture does is pin Vera up against the cage. Cool. Final round, Vera yet again denies Couture's takedown attempts and is simply pressed up against the cage. As the round closes both fighters unleash a flurry of attacks but Vera visibly hurts Couture again.

All I saw Couture, 46, do this entire fight was hold his opponent against the cage. How can you win a fight by holding someone against a cage? That isn't even fighting! You should be kicked out of the promotion for a performance like that. If it was anybody else I'm sure today, they'd be a free agent right now. Hopefully, at the very least, the UFC realizes Randy Couture just isn't the same fighter he used to be.

Contrary to the main event, Dan Hardy came out fighting in his No. 1 Contender match with Mike Swick. A nice right hand buckled Swick from the get-go and Hardy took the momentum from there and never relinquished it in dominating Swick 30-27 on all three scorecards.

After the fight Hardy and Welterweight Champion Georges St.-Pierre met in the Octagon and talked about their future fight. It will be an interesting one but I guarantee you St.-Pierre won't be unable to take the Brit to the canvas.

Then there's Bisping. The Manchester native once again put on a career performance in front of his hometown crowd. And he needed it. After dropping the first round to Denis Kang, Bisping came out in the second and realized his opponent was winded. He didn't let him catch his breath. Instead he stormed Kang with an onslaught of strikes and quickly had Kang bloodied and even more tired. It wasn't long after that he got the stoppage.

It was a critical win for "The Count" who needed to show he can hang with the top middleweight fighters. Now, Kang isn't top five in the division but perhaps sits around 10th as a contender so let's not get carried away. On the other hand, Kang has now lost both fights to start his UFC career and you have to start to wonder where this leaves him.

UFC 105 was another good solid event that I'm willing to wager right now will be better than UFC 106 which is on pay-per-view. You can look forward to a breakdown of this event later in the week but I will just say right now that it is a very weak card with no real main event. The key takeaway for me from UFC 105 is that Couture is one fighter I don't want to watch fight anymore. All he's going to do is try to take guys down and if he can't get it (which he probably won't) is hold them up against the cage. I don't want to watch that.

UFC 105 weigh-in results

The official weigh-in event for UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera went down today in Manchester, England from the Manchester Evening News Arena (MEN). All 22 fighters made their respective weights without incident and with no heavyweights fighting, there wasn't any information to be gained on whether a fighter was actively trying to get bigger or smaller, etc.

Here is the breakdown on each fighter and what they weighed in at for their fight on Saturday night:

Main event:

205 lbs.: Randy Couture (204) vs. Brandon Vera (204)

Main card (Televised):

185 lbs.: Michael Bisping (186) vs. Denis Kang (185)

170 lbs.: Dan Hardy (171) vs. Mike Swick (170)

170 lbs.: Matt Brown (170) vs. James Wilks (169)

155 lbs.: Ross Pearson (156) vs. Aaron Riley (155)

Under card (May not be broadcast):

170 lbs.: John Hathaway (170) vs. Paul Taylor (170)

155 lbs.: Terry Etim (155) vs. Shannon Gugerty (155)

170 lbs.: Matt Riddle (171) vs. Nick Osipczak (170)

155 lbs.: Denis Siver (155) vs. Paul Kelly (156)

155 lbs.: Roli Delgado (156) vs. Andre Winner (155)

205 lbs.: Jared Hamman (204) vs. Alexander Gustafson (203)

Once again, UFC 105 will be broadcast on Spike for free at 8 pm EST, 5 pm PST.

UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera preview

This weekend the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) travels across the pond to London, England for its 105th pay-per-view quality event and although it does have the number to its title, UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera will actually be televised via tape delay on Spike at 5 pm PST.

The most attractive aspect of this card besides perhaps Randy Couture, 46, returning to the light heavyweight division, is the overall depth of the card and competitiveness of the three featured bouts.

Those three fights of course are the main event between Couture (16-10) and Brandon Vera, 32, who will be looking to continue his climb up the ladder of the 205 lb division. That climb is certainly a steep one as it is the UFC's deepest division, yet with a win over the ageless wonder, Vera (11-3) will have cemented his status as a top five light heavyweight and a force to be reckoned with.

The other two fights feature a welterweight number one contender match between Mike Swick (14-2) and Dan Hardy (22-6, 1 NC) with the winner projected to fight champion Georges St.-Pierre in early 2010 and a middleweight matchup between Michael Bisping (18-2) and Denis Kang (32-11-1).

Rounding out the televised portion of the card are Matt Brown (12-7) and Aaron Riley (28-11-1)who will take on James Wilks (7-2) and Ross Pearson (11-3) respectively as they each look to continue their rise in their respective divisions (welterweight and lightweight).

Again the great thing about this card is how competitive these fights these top three fights will be. In fact, other than the London native Hardy, all are listed as favorites in the betting lines. Hardy is just a slight underdog to Swick.

The other great thing about these fights is they all have major implications not only to their respective divisions but to each fighter's title aspirations. Bisping will be looking to bounce back after his first ever KO at the hands of Dan Henderson while Kang wants to get his first UFC win. Then there's Couture and Vera, both looking to climb into the top 5 in the 205 lb division. And we already know what's at stake for Swick and Hardy -- a match with St.-Pierre only the best welterweight in the sport and arguably the best fighter overall.

If it sounds like I'm excited for Saturday to come, it's because I am. Who do I like? Well, I'm glad you asked. I'll take Vera by unanimous decision, Kang by split decision and Swick by 2nd round TKO. In the other fights I like Brown and Riley.

Hope you all enjoy the fights.