Pros Pick: Couture vs. Vera
Pros Pick
Mike Sloan Nov 14, 2009
When hall of famer Randy
Couture meets Brandon Vera
in the UFC
105 main event this Saturday at the Manchester Evening News
Arena in Manchester, England, he will, as has become his custom,
lock horns with a younger, faster and more athletic opponent.
Could this be the fight in which Couture finally shows his age? Vera, who has won two straight, appears more focused than ever and understands how a victory over one of the game’s greats could benefit his career. Couture, meanwhile, has lost two straight as he enters his first bout as a light heavyweight in more than three years.
Sherdog.com recently gathered predictions from a number of
professional fighters and trainers to gauge how they think the UFC
105 headliner will unfold.
Chris Weidman: Vera by decision. In my opinion, the outcome of this fight is contingent upon Vera being able to stay out of the clinch and avoid being taken down. Randy Couture’s world-class wrestling, coupled with his ability to implement a game plan and follow it with precision, makes him a serious problem for anybody. In my opinion, Vera avoids the clinch and is able to outscore Randy with striking.
Ben Saunders: I will have to agree Robin Black, only because he ended it with the [line about] Joe Rogan saying how Randy is a superhero.
Thomas Denny: No comment.
Jamie Varner: I’ll never bet against Randy.
Eddy Millis: I got Randy in this one. Randy will own the clinch, take down to ground-and-pound [and win it in] round two.
Kultar Gill: Couture [decision] by old man strength.
Scott Bieri: Brandon Vera will look better than ever en route to dropping a decision to Couture.
Jeff Monson: Vera by decision.
Shamar Bailey: I’m picking Vera over Couture, even though I hate doing it. I don’t think Vera is going to let Randy get in close enough to do damage, and Vera knows enough in the clinch and on the ground to get the fight back to the center of the cage. I’m picking Vera by KO.
Brodie Farber: It’s hard to bet against Couture, but I have to go with Vera by KO/TKO.
Dewey Cooper: Every time Randy Couture fights, I always wish that he wins. This fight is no different. However, it is only my wish that he wins this fight and not my realistic thoughts. Brandon Vera is trained by my friend and childhood idol, the greatest kickboxer from Holland in Rob Kaman. So needless to say his striking is excellent and will be a serious problem for Mr. Couture. Vera’s jiu-jitsu is awesome, as well, so he is a well-versed MMA fighter. Randy’s only advantage I see in this fight is his strong, mauling wrestling. He will need to take Vera down many times, as well as rough him up on the ground, which I think is going to be a problem for Couture because of Vera’s speed, thunderous leg kicks and punishing knee strikes. Vera wins by late second- or early third-round stoppage.
Zac George: Vera [by] TKO [over] a tired Randy late in the second. [This is] my first time to pick against “The Natural.”
Charlie Brenneman: Though it’s a tough one to call, I gotta go with Randy. I think he’ll be able to close the distance and make it his fight. Vera is extremely tough on the outside, and though his clinch game is good, Couture’s is second to none. That, along with being at his “natural” weight class, will carry Randy to a TKO stoppage late in the second round.
Tom Gavrilos: Gotta go Randy by decision. He will control the clinch and the fight.
Stav Economou: Randy via third-round TKO.
Michael Guymon: Vera via decision. Hard fight to pick, though.
Ray Elbe: Very tough fight to pick. It’s only a matter of time before Randy Couture is diagnosed with OMS. Is this Vera fight the point where he starts showing Old Man Syndrome? I’ll take the Pinoy late in the third round, as I’m finishing my second plate of adobo chicken during the UFC broadcast.
Brad Pickett: I’m not going as far as saying I would eat s--t on this one [like I did in my Fedor fight prediction], but I think Randy will have too much experience for him and mental toughness.
Elvis Sinosic: This should be a good fight. Randy is the consummate professional and always comes to the fight prepared and with a good game plan, win or lose. Brandon is a talented fighter who is improving. Though Randy is coming off two losses, they are to two of the top heavyweight fighters: Brock [Lesnar], the champion, and [Antonio Rodrigo] Nogueira. In both matches, he put up a great fight and showed some great skill. Brandon is coming off victories in the light heavyweight division. Vera has shown some great striking, particularly with his kicks. He has strong grappling. The only area of weakness is his wrestling. Randy’s strength is his wrestling. Randy has good boxing and great submission defense and a dangerous ground-and-pound. I think Randy will be able to control the distance and take Vera down. Vera has great striking, but his strength is his kicks and knees, and I believe these will get him taken down. Vera has good boxing, but it’s not great; Randy has good boxing, as well, and even better dirty boxing if they clinch. Though Vera is a very talented grappler, I don’t think he has the skill that Nogueira does. If Nogueira couldn’t submit Randy, I don’t think Vera will pull it off. Look for Randy to use his boxing to close the range, use his dirty boxing to avoid the knees and take Vera down. This is a three-round fight, and we know Randy can go hard for five rounds, so he’ll be able to blast through three rounds easily. Vera has looked good at light heavyweight but not great and, at times, has looked slower in the later rounds. Though he improves, I don’t think it is enough to stop Randy. He will ground-and-pound Vera for either a TKO stoppage or a decision.
Could this be the fight in which Couture finally shows his age? Vera, who has won two straight, appears more focused than ever and understands how a victory over one of the game’s greats could benefit his career. Couture, meanwhile, has lost two straight as he enters his first bout as a light heavyweight in more than three years.
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Chris Weidman: Vera by decision. In my opinion, the outcome of this fight is contingent upon Vera being able to stay out of the clinch and avoid being taken down. Randy Couture’s world-class wrestling, coupled with his ability to implement a game plan and follow it with precision, makes him a serious problem for anybody. In my opinion, Vera avoids the clinch and is able to outscore Randy with striking.
Robin
Black: Vera’s a pretty slick striker with decent
wrestling and some nice kicks, but I gotta go with Randy on this
one. He’s gonna put Vera against the fence, rough him up with some
short shots and dirty boxing and take him down. Randy’s just too
skilled, too mentally strong and will actually be as big or bigger
than his opponent for a change. He’ll spend most of the fight on
top, elbowing Vera from half guard. Then my man Joe Rogan will say
something really cool about Randy being a superhero. Then
everything will be good in the world.
Ben Saunders: I will have to agree Robin Black, only because he ended it with the [line about] Joe Rogan saying how Randy is a superhero.
Thomas Denny: No comment.
Jamie Varner: I’ll never bet against Randy.
Eddy Millis: I got Randy in this one. Randy will own the clinch, take down to ground-and-pound [and win it in] round two.
Kultar Gill: Couture [decision] by old man strength.
Scott Bieri: Brandon Vera will look better than ever en route to dropping a decision to Couture.
Jeff Monson: Vera by decision.
Shamar Bailey: I’m picking Vera over Couture, even though I hate doing it. I don’t think Vera is going to let Randy get in close enough to do damage, and Vera knows enough in the clinch and on the ground to get the fight back to the center of the cage. I’m picking Vera by KO.
Brodie Farber: It’s hard to bet against Couture, but I have to go with Vera by KO/TKO.
Dewey Cooper: Every time Randy Couture fights, I always wish that he wins. This fight is no different. However, it is only my wish that he wins this fight and not my realistic thoughts. Brandon Vera is trained by my friend and childhood idol, the greatest kickboxer from Holland in Rob Kaman. So needless to say his striking is excellent and will be a serious problem for Mr. Couture. Vera’s jiu-jitsu is awesome, as well, so he is a well-versed MMA fighter. Randy’s only advantage I see in this fight is his strong, mauling wrestling. He will need to take Vera down many times, as well as rough him up on the ground, which I think is going to be a problem for Couture because of Vera’s speed, thunderous leg kicks and punishing knee strikes. Vera wins by late second- or early third-round stoppage.
Zac George: Vera [by] TKO [over] a tired Randy late in the second. [This is] my first time to pick against “The Natural.”
Charlie Brenneman: Though it’s a tough one to call, I gotta go with Randy. I think he’ll be able to close the distance and make it his fight. Vera is extremely tough on the outside, and though his clinch game is good, Couture’s is second to none. That, along with being at his “natural” weight class, will carry Randy to a TKO stoppage late in the second round.
Tom Gavrilos: Gotta go Randy by decision. He will control the clinch and the fight.
Stav Economou: Randy via third-round TKO.
Michael Guymon: Vera via decision. Hard fight to pick, though.
Ray Elbe: Very tough fight to pick. It’s only a matter of time before Randy Couture is diagnosed with OMS. Is this Vera fight the point where he starts showing Old Man Syndrome? I’ll take the Pinoy late in the third round, as I’m finishing my second plate of adobo chicken during the UFC broadcast.
Brad Pickett: I’m not going as far as saying I would eat s--t on this one [like I did in my Fedor fight prediction], but I think Randy will have too much experience for him and mental toughness.
Elvis Sinosic: This should be a good fight. Randy is the consummate professional and always comes to the fight prepared and with a good game plan, win or lose. Brandon is a talented fighter who is improving. Though Randy is coming off two losses, they are to two of the top heavyweight fighters: Brock [Lesnar], the champion, and [Antonio Rodrigo] Nogueira. In both matches, he put up a great fight and showed some great skill. Brandon is coming off victories in the light heavyweight division. Vera has shown some great striking, particularly with his kicks. He has strong grappling. The only area of weakness is his wrestling. Randy’s strength is his wrestling. Randy has good boxing and great submission defense and a dangerous ground-and-pound. I think Randy will be able to control the distance and take Vera down. Vera has great striking, but his strength is his kicks and knees, and I believe these will get him taken down. Vera has good boxing, but it’s not great; Randy has good boxing, as well, and even better dirty boxing if they clinch. Though Vera is a very talented grappler, I don’t think he has the skill that Nogueira does. If Nogueira couldn’t submit Randy, I don’t think Vera will pull it off. Look for Randy to use his boxing to close the range, use his dirty boxing to avoid the knees and take Vera down. This is a three-round fight, and we know Randy can go hard for five rounds, so he’ll be able to blast through three rounds easily. Vera has looked good at light heavyweight but not great and, at times, has looked slower in the later rounds. Though he improves, I don’t think it is enough to stop Randy. He will ground-and-pound Vera for either a TKO stoppage or a decision.
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