UFC 105: Recap, Analysis, Looking Ahead to What's Next for Couture

There were plenty of new story lines coming out of UFC 105 as two men seemingly earned title shots while another doesn't seem to have a logical next fight after his victory.

Saturday's event from Manchester, England, was full of great action featuring Randy Couture seeking out a decision win over Brandon Vera, Dan Hardy decisively defeating Mike Swick, and an undercard full of knockouts.


Randy Couture def. Brandon Vera by unanimous decision

The night's main attraction was great for those who love grappling against the cage, but overall Couture against Vera was in the middle in terms of excitement. The majority of the action early on was Couture pressing Vera up against the cage looking for a takedown, evolving into whether he could survive Vera's kicks when the action pushed to the middle of the Octagon.

Couture earned the decision by controlling Vera for the first round, and doing just enough in the third. Vera easily took the second round through powerful kicks, including a sequence where he connected on a body kick to the ribs, hit a punch, and threw a knee that knocked Couture down midway through the round. Vera attempted to finish, but wasn't fast enough, and seemingly didn't have enough energy to finish the attack.

In the third, Couture attempted to keep it close while Vera was seeking separation to land more kicks. Couture was fine to exchange, but Vera was getting the best of them, taking advantage of multiple referee separations all night. This was probably as even a round as you could get, and if Vera had got the duke, Couture wouldn't have had much to complain about. All judges scored the bout 29-28.

Upon hearing the decision, Vera simply walked out of the cage and sat dejected on the outside, failing to immediately acknowledge Couture. To me, that was disappointing as Vera was impressive in defeat, but still manages to revert back to this bizarre attitude at the worst possible time.

What's next for Couture? I'm not sure. I don't think he earned a title match against Lyoto Machida with the win that honestly felt inconsequential in the grand scheme of the light heavyweight division. Would it make sense to put him against the winner of Rashad Evans against Thiago Silva? What about a bout with Wanderlei Silva at 205? Rich Franklin at 205? There's no obvious next opponent or next step here.

Dan Hardy def. Mike Swick by unanimous decision 

Hardy was good, but not dominant in defeating Swick via unanimous decision. Hardy simply hit harder and took advantage when in the position to do so. He's a big welterweight, and was more filled out than Swick.

The first round featured a lot of cage grappling with a few exchanges, and as the fight wore on, Hardy's shots began to hurt Swick. Hardy had him grounded in the third, and was hitting some hard elbows, opening up a cut on the side of Swick's head, which you don't see that often.

Two judges scored the fight 30-27 with another at 29-28.

With the win, Hardy earns a shot at Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre (who was in attendance) sometime in 2010. There was nothing that Hardy showed me here that makes me think he's got a prayer against GSP.

Michael Bisping def. Denis Kang by second round TKO (4:24)

"The Count" used a second-round assault to get the win over the veteran Kang that has to put him in line for a title shot in 2010. After being dominated on the ground by Kang in the first round, Bisping took Kang down in the second and used impressive ground-and-pound to bloody up Kang's nose and eye.

Kang continued to try to get up, but Bisping made him pay every time with more punches. Bisping kept taking him down at will, and unloaded a final assault of punches and knees to the body that forced the ref to stop it.

For Bisping, I'd like to think he's earned a shot at the Middleweight title, but that may not come until next summer depending on when Anderson Silva next defends the gold. Perhaps a No. 1 contender's match against Nate Marquardt? As far as Kang goes, he's lost two of his last three, and four of his last seven. It was worth a shot, but Kang's run in the UFC should probably come to an end.


Ross Pearson def. Aaron Riley via second round TKO (4:38)

Pearson came out firing in an impressive first round in what was an all-out assault with kicks, knees, and punches. It was more of the same in the second when Pearson effectively ended the fight with a flying knee that busted Riley's nose badly, opening up a gusher. It couldn't have been a better "official" UFC debut for the TUF winner who decimated a veteran in short order. Expect to see a lot more of Pearson on UK cards in the future.

Matt Brown def. James Wilks via third round TKO (2:27)

The polar opposite of Pearson, Wilks did not impress in his first fight since winning TUF. Early on, it was all grappling against the cage with submission specialist Wilks looking for takedowns. However, Brown was up to the task, and defended. In the second round, Brown caught Wilks with a flying knee that dropped him, but Brown didn't let his hands go to finish him off.

Wilks showed great presence even when dazed, tying up Brown with various leg locks and counters when he was on Dream Street. The end came in the third when Wilks almost finished Brown with a nice kimura, but his flexible opponent worked his way out of it, and eventually got full mount. Still dazed from the knee in the second, Wilks succumbed to Brown's punches, and rolled over after being beaten in the face, good enough for the ref to stop the fight. Great performance by Brown ( third straight win), and tough defeat for Wilks.

Andre Winner def. Rolando Delgado via first round KO (3:22)

Winner was connecting early and hurting Delgado with his hands, and then landed a nasty overhand right that put him out quickly. He landed a few extra punches afterward as the ref was horribly out of position for the stoppage. Impressive UFC debut by Winner, another sure-fire star on future UK cards.

Alexander Gustafsson defeated Jared Hamman by first round KO (:41)

Off a break for an accidental finger to the eye, they touched gloves and Gustafsson unleashed a straight right that dropped Hamman. After a few follow up punches, the ref stopped it. Impressive, quick win by Gustafsson (9-0) in his UFC debut.

Bonuses/Notes/Thoughts

• Michael Bisping and Denis Kang each won $40k for Fight Of The Night.
   
• Terry Etim earned Submission Of The Night honors with his second round guillotine choke victory over Shannon Gugerty, taking $40k for the effort.
  
  
• Dennis Siver won the competitive Knockout Of The Night with a spin kick to the midsection of Paul Kelly and picked up $40k.
  
  
• Why couldn't Mike Goldberg just read the Spike promos live during the event like he usually does? The post-production audio didn't match anything and sounded awkward.
  
  
• Overall, it was a nice tight three-hour show with plenty of action from the main card and a few quick undercard bouts. I would have liked to see a few of the ring entrances, but it didn't take too much away from the show.
  

Josh Nason has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to Fight Magazine and Bleacher Report and appears regularly on Fight Network Radio . Follow him on Twitter.