UFC 105 - Handy "The Man" vs "Aloe" Vera

1. Pearson is for REAL.

2. I was very impressed with Bisping. His ground defense was simply amazing. It's a shame he can't keep his damn mouth shut about how wonderful he thinks he is. I've watched Kang for years and I was sad and dejected. Terrible, terrible performance. Did he even bother with endurance training?

3. I had no idea Swick trailed in my town at AKA. Great fight. I really like both guys. One of the rare times I didn't know who I wanted to win. Hardy's head is...wait for it......hard.

4. Nut-shot + eye poke at the same time = Impressive! As Bas would say, " LIVER SHOT!" Vera looked *pissed* that he lost. I thought he won, too, but that's the way it goes. Vera clearly did the most damage, but I can also see why they gave it to Handy. I wonder how Randy would do in a ring. Half of his game is based off the cage.

5. I feel kinda sorry for those who paid for the PPV. Decent fights, but no real main event and no finishes on main card, IIRC.

6. I like hot chicks (except Petra). Just thought I'd throw that in there for no particular reason.

7. Joe "Needs" Rogaine whines too much.

So what did you guys think of the card?

me and pepaseed drove up to manchester to see this, quality event.

I probably enjoyed it more than when we went to 95. We had octagon-side tickets at 95, but main stand tickets last night, which actually gave us a better view, plus the atmosphere was better.

Andre Winner.....looking solid, carrying a lot of power....rolando got hurt
Gustaffson, great punch, good ko, but looked a bit vulnerable in the first 20 secs, would reserve judgement til I see him against a tougher opponent.
Paul Kelly, was sad to see but the efficiency and power of the German Sivers was too much. What a crippling kick.
Nick Osipczak...greatly improved since TUF 9 - really looking much better in all areas. Outstanding performance.
Terry Etim...why is he still fighting undercards? Incredibly well rounded, amazing submissions...did you see gugerty's legs is spasms?
Paul Taylor....maybe his days in the UFC are numbered? Outclassed by Hathaway who was too strong, and much better on the ground.

Ross Pearson. 15 weeks of hard training really showed. Dominating performance against a very tough opponent. Lot of potential in this fighter.
James Wilkes. Fake brit. Got showed up. Exposed.
Bisping....gave me worries when he went down from that right hand from Kang, but what fantastic ground work from his back. Excellent hips shown. Broke Kangs will, wore him down and finished. Great comeback from the devastating KO at 100.
Dan Hardy. Looked solid again. Great chin, but I wish he wouldnt hang it out as much as he does. Could have finished Swick on two occassions I thought, but ended up clinching. With GSP on the way, he best start working on his wrestling some more.
Vera was robbed I thought. Close fight, but I think Vera deserved the win. Again though, after that kick that put Randy down, had a great opportunity to finish but just fell right into Randys guard.

Overall and excellent card, showing much of the promising UK talent coming through at the moment.

Overall good show but I really think the Vera-Couture decision was lame. Basically Randy did what used to be called lay and pray, a tactic perfected by Shamrock. In this case all Randy did was push Vera against the cage, he did little damage or dirty boxing. Is it really cage control when you just keep the opponent against the cage in such a way that neither fighter does any fighting?

I called 10/11 fights in the 105 competition... Not bad for me!

I actually agreed with the Couture/Vera fight decision. I scored it 29/28 also. Yes, it was dull and yes Randy didn't do much, but the result was consistent with what would usually happen with a 10-point system. In Japan Vera could well have won for doing more damage and getting closer to ending the fight, but inside the UFC (or any other American promotion) Randy had that fight.

Got to say that Hardy looked excellent and Bisping was superb and really looked back to his best, but performance of the night was Pearson. Just wow.

Another great night overall for the Brits in the UFC. Wilks doesn't count anyway...

Why has nobody mentioned Matt Brown yet?.. He fought a GREAT fight!.. Completely smashed James Wilks head on the mat.. brutal.

And Dent, how can you NOT like Dan Hardy?.. He's so cool with his Mohawk and cocky attitude . And that cocky smile every time he gets hit on the chin. A helluva lot cooler than Bisping anyways.

Also thought the Main Event bout should go to Vera if only for the knockdown in the second round, and the takedown in the third. Because apart from pushing Vera against the cage for about 3 rounds, Couture never really did anything imho.

Weekends like this with Pacquiao and UFC 105 makes me so happy I'm a member of this site.
Can't wait for WEC on wednesday.