Main event:
205 lbs: Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera
Odds: (-140 Couture / +110 Vera)
The main event of the evening sees UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture return to the Light Heavyweight Division to face off with the dangerously well-rounded Brandon “The Truth” Vera. Vera, once considered a top contender to both the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight titles, has somewhat fizzled out after a string of relatively uninspired performances, but many people suspect that age may have finally caught up with “The Natural”, who is coming off two one-sided losses against Brock Lesnar and Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera. The last time fight pundits made that assumption, though, Couture returned to capture the Heavyweight title, so this is certainly a fight to watch.
Brandon Vera came blazing onto the UFC scene, fighting over his weight but nonetheless destroying a string of Heavyweights, including former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. After back to back losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum, though, Vera dropped to his natural weight of 205, but failed to impress in an awful win over Reese Andy and a split decision loss to Keith Jardine. His last two fights have been more impressive, but he has still failed to recapture the ferocity and style that made him such a sensation. That said, Brandon Vera is still a ridiculously dangerous fighter. An extremely fast, technical striker with a deadly Muay Thai clinch attack, what is so astounding about Vera is that he is actually probably just as good on the ground as he is standing. If he can press the action against Couture and show him some different looks, he has an excellent chance of winning this one.
Randy Couture requires no introduction and no list of his accomplishments. A UFC Hall of Famer, Couture has defied expectations his entire career. A powerful, dominant wrestler who can secure takedowns from the clinch or from a shot, what makes Couture so dangerous is his ability to close the distance with boxing, clinch up, do damage with dirty boxing in the clinch, transition to a takedown and then do more damage with ground and pound. He can move from boxing to the clinch to the ground and back at will, and do damage to his opponents in every range of the game. The only question mark about Couture, as it always has been, is his age. A late comer to the sport of MMA to begin with, Couture is far older than most of his opponents and almost 20 years older than Vera. His age has never hampered him before, but the laws of nature say that a man can not continue to lose fights like he did to Brock Lesnar at his age and never pay the price. The question is whether that time has come.
Personally, I don’t think it has. He was outperformed by Noguiera and physically overwhelmed by the massive Lesnar, but he still has a dangerous skill set and most, if not all, of his physical prowess. Furthermore, Vera’s strengths play right into Couture’s. Vera’s best work standing is from the Muay Thai clinch, but clinching up with Randy Couture in any way, shape, or form is a recipe for disaster. I think Vera will get his shots in during the boxing exchanges, but will ultimately be unable to prevent Couture from securing the clinch, working his unique brand of dirty boxing, and then taking the fight down and imposing his will. Vera’s jiu jitsu is so good that Couture will have to be cautious on the ground, so it is unlikely that he will finish the fight, but he should be able to control the pace and position.
Fight Prediction: Couture by unanimous decision.
