Welcome to FightGameBlog’s LIVE Coverage of UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera featuring the return of Randy Couture to the Light Heavyweight Division as well as a #1 Contenders Match between Dan Hardy and Mike Swick, with the winner facing Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship in 2010. Plus, the UK winners of TUF 9 will compete. The show is live from Manchester, England. Therefore I am watching this on ESPN UK Live!

Rogan and Goldberg welcome us to the show!

Fight #1: Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley (Lightweights)

First fight of the night. Ross Pearson is the Season 9 winner of the Ultimate Fighter. Pearson takes the advantage early with some dirty boxing to the body. Pearson all over Riley with knees and punches. Riley is in trouble, but escapes being pressed against the cage. Riley scores with a nice kick, loosening up a bit. Pearson scores with a nasty overhand. Riley shoots for the single leg but gets nothing. Ross Pearson looking very good. Round ends. My scoring: 10-9 Pearson.

Rogan plugs his and Dana’s twitter between rounds.

Greg Jackson is pleading with Riley to engage. Pearson is just untouchable though. Riley trying to engage but Pearson countering the strikes. Riley went for a big high kick but it was blocked. Pearson’s defense is very very good. They’re clinching a few times here in round 2. Riley hits a couple of knees but gets caught with a nice combo by Ross. They trade nice hard kicks to the body. Pearson ducks a right and unleashes a flurry of lefts and rights. Pearson looking VERY good. Riley not connecting with much. Riley coming in but he got caught very bad. RILEY WEARS THE CRIMSON MASK!!! They’re checking the leaking blood cut. On replay, it turns out Pearson hit a nasty flying knee.

It’s over.

Winner: Ross Pearson wins via cut stoppage.

Alright – good opener!

Fight #2: Matt Brown vs. James Wilks (Welterweights)

James Wilks is the OTHER TUF 9 winner and has not lost since 2006. Matt Brown and James Wilks both look in shape and ready to roll. Okay here we go. They lock up and clinch into the corner. Hold on… gotta scratch my ass…. okay. Anyways… Wilks goes for a takedown against the cage but Brown is ok and scores a nice elbow. Wilks jumps on Brown’s back to go for the DREADED SLEEPER HOLD~! They trade some awesome combinations and Wilks again goes for the takedown. Brown’s takedown defense is superb here as Wilks can’t get him. The ref breaks them out of the corner. Wilks with an powerful kick/uppercut combo. Wilks has a nasty mouse under his eye. I’d call that Splinter. Oh wait, that’s a rat. Whatever. Almost all of this round was Wilks going for a takedown but Brown escaping until he finally takes Brown down after Brown attempted a choke. Wilks with a nice head kick but missed. Round over. I don’t know how to call it, but I’m going to shoot for Brown over Wilks 10-9 because he hit a nice head kick, avoided the takedowns, AND left a mouse on the man’s face. My scoring: 10-9 Brown.

Ok, Wilks face looks like a burnt marshmallow. Brown catches him with a NASTY knee and is now pounding away. Is he done? No, not yet! Brown is all over Wilks and WILKS GOES FOR A KNEEBAR BUT BROWN ESCAPES. A lot more action in this one. Wilks again going for a takedown but gets nothing. Brown attempting a kimura yet again. Wilks continues to engage but Brown counters with a hard left and right to the jaw. Wilks almost got KOd there. Brown going for another choke, but transitions to the back. Wilks REVERSES! AWESOME! Wilks on top not doing much, and now goes into the guard. Brown slaps on a triangle JUST as the bell rings. CLOSE! My scoring: 10-9 Brown again.

Round 3 begins with Wilks trying something… anything. He has to win the fight here. You can tell Wilks is very, very tired. Now Wilks going for a kimura and they hit the ground, but Brown uses his feet to push off the cage and grab Wilks leg to escape. Very scientific. WILKS TWIRKS THE KIMURA! BROWN SURVIVES! That was an awesome near-fall. Brown mounts him! PUNCHES! RIGHT! RIGHT! RIGHT! DONE!

Winner: Matt Brown via 3rd Round TKO (Ground and Pound).

How dare Matt call himself the immortal, specially now that the HULKSTER IS BACK, BROTHER! In the post-fight interview, Matt talks about jetlag and how nervous he was, but he pounded it out.

We see Randy arriving with blonde girlfriend #23. We also see Vera arriving.

Up Next, Prelim Fight – Andre Winner vs. Rolando Delgado

Fight #A: Andre Winner vs. Rolando Delgado (Lightweights)

Delgado’s beard is so manly, it almost makes me want to get a sex change. DELGADO TAGGED RIGHT ON THE BEARD! Winner looking to finish! IF YOUR LAST NAME IS WINNER – YOU’D BETTER NOT LOSE ASSHOLE! Delgado comes back and pushes him against the cage. Winner and Delgado trade knees and punches. Another shot sends Delgado back. Winner putting his hands down and dodging like Anderson Silva / Muhammad Ali. Very good striking though by Winner. OVERHAND RIGHT ROLLY DELGADO IS DEAD!!!!!

Winner: Andre Winner (The Winner is Winner – Good) via 1st Round KO (Overhand Right).

On replay, he destroyed the man with ONE PUNCH! It’s a LOT like Fedor’s punch to Rodgers last week. HUGE win for Andre Winner. He’s now 1-1 in the UFC.

We see an AWESOME PRIDE-level video package for the next fight – Bisping vs. Kang. Kang coming in from PRIDE hasn’t had that much luck, but he wants redemption. Speaking of redemption, Bisping wants it bad. I CANNOT wait.

Huge pop for Michael Bisping’s entrance. This fight will say a lot about Bisping’s future. Bisping looks ready and the crowd is behind him.

Fight #3: Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang (Middleweights)

HERE WE GO. No touching gloves here. Both guys are here to destroy each other. They’re throwing jabs and legs and not really connecting. Bisping stepping in with left and rights – none connect. Kang ROCKS Bisping in the mouth and lays on top and moves into the half guard. Kang working with left punches to the ribs on top. Kang looking to pass. Crowd cheering for Bisping who’s fighting to avoid being mounted. Lots of action here. Kang throwing rights. Kang still trying to pass. Kang got the mount but Bisping escapes. Good job. Kang gets full mount with his legs crossed and starts to pound. Bisping escapes again! Good job by Bisping escaping the mount. Kang is still the aggressor. Bisping went for an armbar but got nothing. Very good ground work here. Ok, round over. My scoring: 10-9 Kang.

Bisping looks upset at himself. He needs to do better next round but showed good ground defense.

Round 2 starts with Bisping going for a big head kick but not connecting. Kang picking him apart in standup. Kang working the jab expertly. Bisping scores with a single leg and gets KAng down. Good job Bisping, but watch out – Kang can’t be fucked with on the ground. Bisping starts to pound on Kang! BISPING CONNECTING WITH RELENTLESS HAMMERS AND PUNCHES. BISPING GIVING IT TO HIM! Kang gets back up. BISPING takes him down easy! THE TIDE is beginning to turn here folks. Bisping tagging Kang hard as he backs off. Kang’s face looks like pasta. Bisping throwing shots and Kang is wobbly. Bisping throwing shots! Kang down! ITS OVER! THE REF STOPPED IT!

WHAT AN AWESOME FUCKING COMEBACK BY MICHAEL BISPING!!!!!

Winner: Michael Bisping via TKO (Ground and Pound)

I am impressed with Bisping’s heart. I still don’t like him, but very good job. Bisping says that it hurts him he doesn’t get the respect he deserves. He apologizes for the last fight and says it was just a set back and that now the OLD Bisping is back. He thanks everyone.

HAHA! Afterward, Michael’s son put him in an armbar and tapped him. Cool moment!

Fight #B: Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jared Hamman (Light Heavyweights)

We have yet another prelim right. We start with a bad-ass slugfest by both men. HUGE overhand right by Hammond. HUGE RIGHT HAND~! IT IS ALL OVER! ALEXANDER GUSTAFFSON DESTROYS HAMMOND!! WHAT A SHOT!

Winner: Alexander Gustafsson via 1st Round KO (Right Hand of Pain and Suffering)

Now it is time for the collision between the top two contenders at 170 with the winner facing Georges St. Pierre in 2010.

By the way, the UK is 2-1 tonight!

Swick comes out to Ambitions Az A Ridah. Brownie points. This is Swick’s chance at last for some gold. Hardy is fighting in his country – for his country – should be a good one.

Fight #4: Mike “Quick” Swick vs. Dan Hardy in a #1 Contenders Fight (Welterweights)

Hardy starts by pressing Swick against the cage. Hardy is a lot stronger than he looks. Swick reverses but the ref breaks it because of an apparent accidental low blow to Hardy. On inspection of the replay, Swick hits a knee to the balls. Ouch. Now Swick charges in and pushes Dan against the cage. Hardy reverses again. We’ve seen clinching against the cage only thusfar. I was expecting more action from Swick but we’ll see. Swick scoring some nice knees and punches to the body. Swick is trying to wear him down and controlling him a bit more than the other way around. Hardy reverses and pushes Swick against the cage again. They just swung at each other to end the round. That’s a rough one to score, but I think Hardy gets it barely after two HARD shots via replay. My scoring: 10-9 Hardy.

The second round begins. HARDY NAILS SWICK! Hardy pushes him again. Wow, Swick is in much trouble. Hardy continuing to punish Swick. I’ve never seen Swick get caught this good in any of his fights other than the Leben fight in the WEC 5 years ago. Hardy with knees and punches while Swick clinches. Big uppercut by Hardy. The ref finally separates them with 2 minutes left. Hardy with some nice leg kicks and Swick with a hard right hook to the mouth. Good shot. Hardy attacks again with lefts and rights in the clinch. Hardy tagged him yet again and Swick looks wobbly. Round over. Swick is NOT looking good. My scoring: 10-9 Hardy yet again.

Round three begins. Hardy scoring some decent leg kicks and looks confident. Swick is starting to swing and connects! Swick with an awesome left. Swick gets caught! This is turning into a brawl here. Swick knows he is down two rounds! BIG SHOT BY HARDY AND SWICK WOBBLES TO THE CAGE! HARDY ATTACKS AND IS GOING FOR A TAKEDOWN. GUILLOTINE BY SWICK, HARDY ESCAPES! ELBOWS! Swick looks tired and hurt. This is not good for the American. Hardy plowing his face with ‘bows. The ref stands them up and here we go again. They both trade a bit. 90 seconds left in the fight. Another hard leg kick from Dan. Hardy attacks again and the bell goes off. Fight over. My scoring: 10-9 Hardy again.

Okay so, Hardy won this fight. I am very impressed with Dan Hardy and Swick just did not look himself. My final scoring is 30-27. Let’s see what the judges say.

Winner: Dan Hardy by decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-27).

Dan Hardy now becomes the FIRST BRIT to get a title shot, now facing GSP in 2010. Great job by Hardy as he fought his ass off! Welterweight Champ GSP is here. Here comes robotic speech. GSP says he looks forward to Hardy’s challenge in 2010. Lots of respect.

Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg talk about the story of Randy coming down to 205 and the Rise and Fall of Brandon Vera. We get to the video package about how important this fight is.

Fight #5: Randy “The Natural” Couture vs. Brandon “The Truth” Vera (Light Heavyweights)

Randy comes out to Kashmir by Led Zeppelin. Okay, he’s even MORE God than I thought. I love Randy, but as I said on FGB Radio, I think he’s probably losing here. I hope and pray Randy destroys this man but I just don’t think it’s happening. I can’t wait to see what happens here.

Okay, here we go…

Vera attacks early with a big right hand a kick. Randy clinches! Vera puts Randy against the cage and Randy reverses. DIRTY BOXING RANDY STYLE!!!! Randy pushes him old school style. Randy imposing his will on the man. Hey, Goldberg said that after me! Vera reverses but Randy puts him against the cage again. Both guys have good greco. Ok the ref breaks it. Randy goes in for the shoot and we’re back against the cage. RANDY GETS HIM DOWN! Randy with some knees. Back against the cage they go. Randy going for the single leg, but Vera is still ok. Randy wearing him down a little more. Vera gets the muay thai clinch, but doesn’t connect. Randy keeps mushing the man. The ref breaks it up. Randy ducks the strike and pushes him again. The round ends. My Scoring: Randy wins 10-9.

We continue with Round Number Two. Randy gets poked in the eye AND low blowed and gets a break. Ouch. Randy comes in and shoots. Randy trying to sweep the leg. Randy going for a judo takedown. Randy with the underhooks catches a small knee. Randy with a good uppercut to the solar plexis. Now they split them up. Brandon threw a nice high kick. KNEE TO THE BODY. COUTURE HOLDING HIS STOMACH. COUTURE IN TROUBLE BUT HE REGAINED HIS COMPOSURE. Vera in Couture’s guard. The ref stands it up again. Vera looking for a kick. Randy pushes him against the cage yet again. This is a very hard round to call because Randy is a one trick pony, but it’s effective, and yet for a few seconds there Vera caught him good. Round over. My Scoring: …. Fuck… I think Randy wins just based on time. 10-9 Couture.

Randy is cut over his right eye, but appears to be ok.

Third and final round. Couture pushing him into the cage. COUTURE WITH LEFTS AND RIGHTS! NICE FLURRY! Randy going for the takedown and Vera looks tired. Randy with elbows and knees. Couture with dirty boxing uppercuts and elbows. Vera failing to keep the distance and it looks like this is what is costing him the fight. The ref breaks them up after a long time. Vera looks tired. KICK TO THE BODY! Randy hurt again. Vera teeing off with body shots. That’s what he should’ve done the entire time. Vera now clinches and pushes Randy against the cage. Vera on top. Vera gets the mount. Randy holding on. RANDY ESCAPES OUT OF IT! RANDY FIGHTING BACK WITH UPPERCUTS! 10 SECONDS LEFT! VERA CATCHES RANDY! RANDY FIGHTS BACK! THIS IS A WAR! GREAT FINISH! My Scoring: Vera wins 10-9, but that was VERY close.

The fight goes the distance. My scoring is 29-28 for Couture.

And the judges say…

Winner: Randy “The Natural” Couture via decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

CAPTAIN AMERICA!!!

Vera is an idiot – he should’ve known what to do. Randy uses the same strategy here that he’s used 100 times before and Vera had no counter. What a dumbass. Randy says the fight was close and that he WAS hurt with those body kicks. Randy moving up the ladder in 205. Lots of big fights coming up for Randy like Tito, Forrest, Coleman, Shogun, and of course – Machida.

Vera and Joe both agree that he did more damage than Randy, but the judges gave it to Randy (based on Octagon control). Vera thanks the judges.

Alright that about does it for our LIVE UFC coverage. Later tonight we WILL have LIVE PLAY BY PLAY of Miguel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao: Firepower. Plus, UFC 106 NEXT WEEK!

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