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.

UFC 104 main event an important fight for UFC as well as both fighters

As the UFC has grown over the past few years, it has been widely recognized that their glamor division, strongest division was its 205 lb league of Light Heavyweight fighters. Over the years it's had some of the sports most widely recognized champions: Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans.

Now not only does the division have the star power it has easily the most depth. Which can be a bane as much as it is a positive.

Current champion Lyoto Machida, 31, will face fellow Brazilian native Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, 27, at UFC 104 from Las Vegas on October 24th in his first title defense. Machida is the organization's first champion whose primary language is anything other than English since Vitor Belfort held the belt shortly more than a decade ago.

The onus, thus, will be on the undefeated karate specialist to re-establish the fading brightness of a once brilliant division. That isn't to say that the division has suddenly fallen on hard times, more that it is in need of a powerful champion to reign supreme like that of Anderson Silva for middleweights or Georges St.-Pierre does in the welterweight division.

At 15-0 Machida certainly has shown the ability to be dominant especially in his most recent victory -- a two round demolition of Rashad Evans which he finished with a brutal TKO. The question isn't whether he has the talent to remain champion, he has shown this at least in the opinion of this writer, but whether he can move the audiences around the world enough with this next performance to be a constant main event draw.

Rua (18-3), the latest contender of the deep 205 lb division, has the chance to do the same. If he can upend the undefeated champion in spectacular fashion, the crowd could easily fall behind a fighter who only a few short years ago was considered by most as the elite light heavyweight talent in the world.

Regardless of whether Machida or Rua emerge victorious on Saturday night less than three weeks from now, the key will be whether one of them takes up the torch left by the former stars of the elite division.

Chuck Liddell has most likely fought his last battle inside the octagon. TUF alums Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin have been exposed. "Rampage" Jackson has taken an indefinite hiatus. Tito Ortiz is, well, past his prime to be nice. The division appears to be there for the taking, in desperate need of a future star to emerge.

The UFC hopes it will happen at 104 with either Machida or Rua.

Post event analysis of UFC 102

The UFC brass can't be much more proud of how their first foray into the Pacific Northwest fared Saturday night as they displayed UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera in Portland, Oregon live from the Rose Garden.

Over 16,000 fans filled the arena, producing a gate over $1.9 million while almost every one of the 11 fights proved to be exciting. None more than the main event between the two heavyweight legends.

Randy "The Natural" Couture (16-10) entered the fight against Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Noguiera (34-5-1) as a heavy favorite but it was Noguiera's superior boxing and ground game that was the difference in the fight as Noguiera went on to scrape the unanimous decision.

It was a battle in every round with the two Hall-of-Famers going toe-to-toe while unleashing the best of their striking arsenal upon their foe's face. The heavily Couture-sided crowd rose to its feet everytime Couture landed some big strikes that had Noguiera retreating or whenever he reversed the Brazilian's efforts on the ground.

An epic battle from start to finish that will certainly find a spot in the UFC's "top 100 fights".

Noguiera's win should propel him into the discussion for No. 1 contender of Brock Lesnar's heavyweight belt where about four or five other fighters consistently reside. The 34-year-old Brazilian says he's in top form, if he can keep it up a win over a guy like Cain Velasquez or Gabriel Gonzaga down the line could further propel him.

On the other side of the coin is Couture, who announced on Sunday that he has signed a six fight, 28 month contract extension with the UFC. What's amazing is the fact that at 46 years of age, Couture believes he is in the best shape of his career. So the Hall-of-Famer will go on fighting for another 28 months which will carry him well past his 48th birthday.

God bless "The Natural". What lies ahead? We'll see in the near future but rest assured, Couture will be fighting only the best.

Outside of the main event, there were a number of important developments from undercard fights. First off was Nate Marquardt dispatching fellow middleweight contender and previously undefeated Damien Maia (11-1) in 22 seconds with a highlight reel knockout.

Marquardt joins Dan Henderson as No. 1 contenders for Anderson Silva's middleweight belt. Both have previously fought -- and lost -- to Silva before and both, however, have improved especially Marquardt. Who the UFC chooses still looks to favor Henderson but remains in the air.

The other action was just as compelling and noteworthy.

Thiago Silva stunned Keith Jardine with a vicious right hand and some quick ground-and-pound for a TKO victory in under two minutes of their fight. Silva bounced back nicely with the win after the KO loss to Lyoto Machida, inserting himself right back into the picture while Jardine continues his trademark one step forward and one step backward march through the elite of the division. It leaves Jardine in a precarious position. He's a top 7 or 8 guy in the division but firmly set there -- no better and no worse.

Jake Rosholt took "submission of the night" honors and a $60,000 bonus for his choke out of Chris Leben. Gabriel Gonzaga finished Chris Tuchscherer impressively in one round with strikes and another heavyweight, Todd Duffee, continued bolster the division's depth by scoring a very impressive, seven second KO which set the UFC record.

The other nightly honors:

Fight of the night: Couture vs. Noguiera
Knockout of the night: Nate Marquardt

UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera interest lies beyond main event

At first glance the UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera card looks rather unspectacular, disappointing is a word I would use. In the main event, we have two fighters in the twilight of their careers looking to prove that they still have it against a similar past-his-prime fighter.

Randy Couture (16-9) will take on the legend Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera (31-5-1) in the consolation bracket of the heavyweight tournament that began almost a year ago at UFC 91 with Couture facing Brock Lesnar. As far as implications to the division, this fight is about as interesting as watching a tournament on the Nationwide Tour.

Other than seeing a tactical fight between a great wrestler and the ultimate gameplanner in Couture against the world class jiu-jitsu of Noguiera, the main event offers little in the way of excitement.

But if you look further, beyond the main event you see four fights that are much more intriguing. The first of which is what appears to be a No. 1 contender match-up in the middleweight division between Nate Marquadt (31-8-2) and Demian Maia (11-0).

Both fighters are on impressive winning streaks. Obviously Maia has never lost, winning against former WEC middleweight champ Chael Sonnen and contenders Nate Quarry and Jason MacDonald most recently. Meanwhile, since losing a split decision to Thales Leites at UFC 85, Marquadt has gone on to impressive wins over Martin Kampmann and Wilson Gouveia via TKO stoppages.

This fight has exciting written all over it.

Then there is the light heavyweight clash between top 10 contenders Keith Jardine (14-6-1) and Thiago Silva (13-1). Both fighters are coming off of tough losses that knocked them back out of the title discussion -- to "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida respectively.

The fighter who can bounce back on Saturday night will find himself right back in the mix while the other will have some searching to do after two straight losses to guys now ahead of him.

Two other fights also have my interest piqued. Another light heavyweight clash between two guys that are right on the edge of the top 10: Brandon "The Truth" Vera (10-3) and Krzysztof "The Polish Experiment" Soszynski (19-9-1). Soszynski has been extremely impressive since breaking into the UFC after The Ultimate Fighter season seven while Vera has been inconsistent since making the drop to 205 lbs.

The last fight I've got on my radar is a clash between former heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga (10-4) coming off a loss against Shane Carwin, and UFC newcomer Chris Tuchscherer (17-1). Gonzaga has been said to be in the best shape of his life, with a new determination in the sport since the knockout loss to Carwin.

In a division that has suddenly found some much needed strength at the top and depth in the middle, Gonzaga will need a big win to get himself back into the fray with the heavyweights. It is perhaps this fight, rather than the losers battle between a couple of past-their-primers in the main event, that could have greater implications to the future of the heavyweight division in the UFC.