Pyle of List

UFC 105 is being held in Manchester, England.  It’s also free on Spike TV, and there is a reason - It’s a terrible PPV card.  I guarantee that if it wasn’t free, only the diehard MMA fans would waste $45 on it.

Main Card

* Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera (205)
* Dan Hardy vs. Mike Swick (170)
* Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang (185)
* Matt Brown vs. James Wilks (170)
* Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley (155)

There is no title involved in any of these matches.  The bout between Hardy & Swick is supposed to determine the next #1 contender to face Welterweight Champ Georges St.Pierre.  As you can expect the card is filled with many of the British contestants from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 9.  Now, I’m not saying this card will necessarily be boring - but I will say it’s not giving me an MMArection either.  Though I hope it will excite potential fans that wouldn’t usually buy a PPV.  Let’s get to the preview.

Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson vs. Aaron Riley

Pearson was the Lightweight winner of TUF 9.  He’s a decent striker, but also very green.  Riley is a fighter out of Greg Jackson’s camp.  He’s got a 28-11-1 record compared to Pearson’s 9-3.  This fight is probably going to go to decision, and I predict it will be in favor of Peason.  The UFC tends to protect it’s TUF winners by giving them someone that they think he can handle, but at the same time make for an exciting fight.  Also it doesn’t hurt that the Manchester crowd is going to be clearly in the corner of Pearson.  I just hope it isn’t a shady decision like the won Michael Bisping got over Matt Hamill.

Matt “The Immortal” Brown vs. James “Lightning” Wilks

Brown is a journeyman fighter with a  10-7 record.  He has a Muay Thai & BJJ background.  Wilks is the Welterweight winner of TUF 9.  He’s pretty big for a Welter @ 6′1″.  He uses his reach well and has solid striking skills.  As mentioned above, I think that Brown will match up well with Wilks but the fight will probably go to decision in favor of the hometown Brit.  I think that this is a smart move by the UFC to try and build on their growing UK fanbase by showcasing the winners of TUF 9.  They want to bolster their Limey talent beyond Bisping & Hardy.  Also, in the end, there can be only one!

Michael “The Count” Bisping vs. Denis Kang

Look for the much bigger Bisping (6′2″ vs 5′11″) to use his reach and kickboxing to contol the distance with Kang.  I think this fight will turn out much like Bisping’s match vs Chris Leben - on his bicycle for most of the fight, landing the occasional combos and leg kicks, and take the fight via 3 round decision.  He doesn’t want to risk losing 2 in a row and falling down the rankings for a possible shot at Middleweight Champ Anderson Silva.

Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy vs. Mike “Quick” Swick

This fight is said to determine the number 1 contender for the next Welterweight titleshot.  Hardy is a solid striker with some power in his hands.  He likes to throw counter strikes as well.  Swick was on the original TUF, but he fought as a Light Heavyweight.  After the show he dropped down to Middleweight, but following his only UFC loss @ middle to Yushin Okami - he dropped down once again to welter.  He’s very well rounded.  Above average in every facet of the game.  He can finish by either submission or TKO.  And I think Quick hands The Outlaw his first loss in the octagon in the only fight on the main card that does not go to decision.

Randy “The Natural” Couture vs. Brandon “The Truth” Vera

The main event.  The 46 year old Couture is dropping back down to Lightheavy after back to back losses at heavyweight.  The 32 year old Vera is trying to climb the ranks of Lightheavy by defeating a living legend.  Couture’s gameplan is to get his hands on Vera and try to drag him to the mat and unleash some ground & pound.  Vera obviously want to keep it standing and use his superior kickboxing to put a nail in the coffin of Randy’s carrer.  If Couture can’t get Vera to the ground, he’s going to lose.  But if he can impose his will and break Vera down (it’s happened to him before in big fights) he will walk away with the victory.  I like Couture in this and possible Fight of the Night honors as well.

“I rushed him and caught him flush on the temple with a titanic right hand he was out cold, convulsing on the floor like a infantile retard.”