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I was able to watch the UFC 105 card this weekend. It took place on Saturday, November 15, at the MEN arena in Manchester England. This was a stacked card that lived up to the hype that surrounded it from the beginning… for the most part…

In this review, I am going to spend my time on the main card. The under card was packed with good fights, but I wasnt able to see all of them so I dont want to just talk about the ones that I was able to see.

The fights that took place were as follows:

Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley

Matt Brown vs. James Wilks

Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy

Micheal Bisping vs. Denis Kang

Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera

Ross Pearson was a huge underdog coming in to his Octagon debut, versus a very tough and durable Aaron Riley, but was able to make a huge impact. From the opening bell, Pearson implemented his game plan with perfection. He was able to completely nullify Riley’s offense and make it his fight. There really isn’t anything to say in a negative regard to Pearson’s performance, because he was able to do anything and everything he wanted to Riley with no answer. Riley was very tough and hung in there there until the doctor stopped the fight from a nasty cut. Pearson was declared the winner. It was basically domination from the start.

Matt Brown and James Wilks put on a wonderful display of martial arts in a great back and forth battle from the opening frame. Brown used his experience and toughness to earn a decisive TKO victory in the third round. The battle was back, forth, and full of action. The fight was very even in the opening round with both fighters landing good clean shots. Everything was very close until Brown was able to land a flying knee that hurt Wilks badly. Wilks was still a gamer and showed just how tough he really is by withstanding the onslaught brought on by Brown. Wilks was able to get Brown in a nasty Kimura that had Brown’s arm bent backwards enough so that it looked as though Brown’s arm was touching his head. I, personally, thought he was going to tap out or get a broken arm or shoulder. Brown was able to hold out and get full mount, which he used to stop Wilks via ground and pound.

Dan Hardy really surprised me in his fight against Mike Swick. I expected Swick to dominate Hardy from the opening bell. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was the exact opposite really. Hardy was able to land counter punch after counter punch that really hurt Swick numerous times. Swick really had no answer to anything Hardy threw at him… (pun intended lol). Hardy showed that he is a durable, strong, and aggressive fighter. I do see room for a ton of improvement, especially with going for the finish, but he showed just how much better he was than Swick on Saturday. Hardy will fight for the title against Georges St. Pierre at his next showing. Hopefully he works on his ground game, because that is where the fight will end up. Hardy won via unanimous decision.

Denis Kang had a decent first round against Micheal Bisping. He was able to land a very strong shot that put Bisping on his back, but wasnt able to do anything once he got on top of Bisping. There was a full 90 seconds where Bisping was able to defend perfectly against anything that Kang tried to do on the ground. The second round was a good battle that had Bisping putting a clinic on Kang. He was able to get Kang to the ground, with ease, and put forth a beating that left Kang somewhere near queer street… maybe even declaring Kang as the owner of queer street. It was a great performance from Bisping that showed his heart and determination.

The main event was a battle between Brandon Vera and Randy Couture. In the first few seconds of the fight, Vera was able to land some hard, clean shots that seemed to hurt Randy for a split second. Randy then was able to grab a hold of Vera and hold him to the fence while he implemented his strategy of “dirty boxing”, and the clinch game. Vera wasn’t able to do anything about that for the entire round. In round two, Vera landed some very good, hard shots to the body that forced Randy to turn away and drop to the mat. Even with Randy hurt, Vera was unable to do anything to finish the fight. Randy was able to recover and showed how durable a 46 year old man can be. The third round was alot like the first. Vera landed a couple shots but Randy was able to land more and control Vera until the last 30 seconds. In the last 30 seconds, Vera was able to take Randy to the ground, but was unable to land a single shot to end the fight. It was a close fight, but the judges gave it to Randy because of his clear ability to control Vera and use his game plan from start to finish.

All in all it was an excellent card. I loved the Bisping, Pearson, and Brown fights. I was at the edge of my seat for the duration of those bouts and am very excited about seeing their progression in the UFC. I, also, hope to see Brandon Vera get back to his aggressive ways like he was earlier in his career. I have a feeling that Randy will be able to use his plan of attack the same way he has for years. He is very tough and has superior clinch game and wrestling. He showed that for sure. Hardy showed his fighting spirit and that he has a very tough chin. I personally, don’t think he will beat GSP, nor do I think he is ready for a title shot, but there really is nobody left for GSP to beat on. He has cleaned out his division much the same as Anderson Silva has done to his division. There is always a punchers chance tho. I was wrong about the Swick/Hardy fight, so I could be wrong about the Hardy/GSP fight as well. Time will tell. Bisping came back with a vengeance and Ross Pearson showed that he is ready to make a name for himself. Wilks will be back for sure and Brown showed what heart and being “The Immortal” is all about.

Please leave your comments and feel free to contact me.

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