Couture vs Vera To Headline UFC 105
by Robert Sargent
After two weeks of speculation, the Ultimate Fighting Championship's next event in England now has a main event. In a light heavyweight bout, former two-division champion Randy "The Natural" Couture will face Brandon "The Truth" Vera.
The fight will headline the event and sees Couture return to the light heavyweight division, but it remains to be seen whether that change will be permanent.
Following the cancellation of the UFC 107 bout between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and "Sugar" Rashad Evans, the original UFC 105 main event, a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between "The Prodigy" BJ Penn and Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez, was moved to UFC 107. This left the Manchester card without a headlining fight until now.
Couture (16-10-0) is coming off of a Unanimous Decision loss to former UFC Interim and PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira at UFC 102, but the all-out war was one where there really were no losers. Now looking to once again make his mark on the light heavyweight division, where he has held gold on three occasions, Couture faces a tough test in Vera.
Vera (11-3-0) is enjoying somewhat of a career resurgence after losing three of four fights between 2007 and 2008. He had previously reigned undefeated and holds a win over former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. Having recently defeated Michael Patt and Krzysztof Soszynski, Vera is back on-track, but has not looked like his old self.
Couture will surely push Vera to the limit and make him work for a victory. Vera will need to diligently prepare for his showdown with the UFC legend if he wishes to continue to rise back up the ranks. Once proclaiming that he would be the first man to hold the UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Championships at the same time, Vera has a long way to go in order to achieve those dreams. A win over Couture would be a huge step forward.
In an interesting turn of events, November could possibly see a second clash between a Vera and a Couture. Brandon's wife, Kerry, recently signed with Strikeforce and is expected to make her debut in November. Rumours of a possible fight with Randy's ex-wife Kim have surfaced.
Should a fight between the women materialise, it would make for a very unique situation. One family could potentially walk away as two-time winners.
UFC 105 takes place on November 14th at the Manchester Event News Arena in Manchester, England.
