UFC 105

This weekend will see Randy ‘Captain America’ Couture fighting in the UK, in a card absolutely packed with British talent.

Randy Couture takes on Brandon Vera in the headline fight, and the odds are very close at some sportsbooks, some calling the fight at -120 Couture to -110 Vera. I reckon this is a bit of a fantasy, as Couture is definitely past his prime. He’s a fighter, no doubt, and he’s not getting destroyed by his opposition, but he’s just not going to get back into title contention, regardless of how much people may want him to.

Vera lost momentum in a string of losses, which damaged his reputation severely. This has unfairly led people to discount him entirely. His youth and experience in Greco Roman wrestling should serve Vera well against Couture, and a striking battle would almost certainly be to his advantage rather than Couture’s. I want Couture to take a run for the light heavyweight title as much as anyone, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Dan Hardy vs. Mike Swick will likely go to Swick, who has had a good run at welterweight in the UFC. I doubt it will be an easy victory, however, as Dan Hardy has more fights under his belt and he is an excellent tactician. In stand up, it seems like a pretty even match up, but ground fighting will undoubtedly go to Swick. If Swick chooses to trade strikes, Hardy might win a split decision, and this possibility is quite likely if Swick thinks he needs to prove something.

Of course, I’m mostly looking forward to Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang. I hope Bisping can win, but it’s not going to be easy against a fighter like Kang. What a lot of people fail to give Bisping credit for is that he is very difficult to take down and keep on the ground. While Kang has both submission expertise and knockout ability, I don’t think he is a superior striker to Bisping and he would find it difficult to take the fight to the ground. I’m absolutely biased in this case, however, so let’s just say I think Bisping has a better chance than some people think.

TUF 9 winners Ross Pearson and James Wilks will also have fights in the main card. Pearson takes on Aaron Riley and Wilks goes against Matt Brown. I’m somewhat surprised that the Brits are the underdogs for these bouts. Pearson is +165 to Riley at -210 and Wilks is +125 to Brown at -155. Riley and Brown aren’t exactly the greatest fighters who’ve ever lived. They’re both challenging, just not quite as dominant as the odds suggest.

It’s not the biggest event this year or even this month, but UFC 105 should be fairly entertaining. We’ll get to see if Randy Couture can regain some relevancy, whether Mike Swick or Dan Hardy will get to take on GSP, how Michael Bisping has been affected by his UFC 100 loss, and also if the TUF 9 winners can continue to perform now that they are in the UFC proper. Make no mistake, this card has implications for the future, it just doesn’t have the big name events that most fans crave.