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Zuffa kicks off a three event week this Saturday with UFC 105, tape delayed from Manchester, England on Spike TV. Randy Couture returns to the light heavyweight division for the first time in over three years when he takes on Brandon Vera in the night's main event, and both of the winners from The Ultimate Fighter's ninth season are in action on the televised card. Before we get to those bouts, however, there's a full slate of preliminary action coming to the live U.K. audience.
Preliminary Card
Andre Winner vs. Roli Delgado: These two Ultimate Fighter products will look to show more than they have thus far in the Octagon here in Manchester on Saturday night. Winner was season 9's runner-up, and looked good during his time on the show before coming up short to Ross Pearson in June's finale. Delgado has split his two appearances since the reality program, but thus far Winner looks to have more of an upside between the two of them. Look for Winner to pick up the TKO victory in the third round of this one.
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jared Hamman: Both fighters here are making their UFC debuts, and both have found success with their hands thus far in their respective careers. Hamman has been the more widely viewed of the two, having headlined three different ShoXC events on Showtime, going 2-1 in those bouts. Gustafsson has put together an undefeated record, mostly in his home country of Sweden as well as surrounding areas. This may come down to how Hamman responds after a lengthy layoff, as he has not fought since August of last year. I'll take Gustafsson to take advantage late in the fight with a third round TKO.
Paul Kelly vs. Dennis Siver: Paul Kelly has put together a very solid run in the UFC thus far, and overall in his career. In four appearances in the Octagon, his sole loss came at the hands of the always tough Marcus Davis. Siver moved to .500 in the UFC in his last bout, a first round submission over Dale Hartt at UFC 99 in June, and this looks to be a very solid lightweight matchup between the two European fighters. Kelly is a fairly significant favorite coming in, but I'll take Siver with a submission upset late in the second round.
Nick Osipczak vs. Matt Riddle: The Ultimate Fighter competitors on this card continue with this bout between Riddle and Osipczak. Riddle has picked up three straight decision victories in the UFC to begin his professional career, as he competed on TUF without having had a pro fight. Osipczak looked good against Frank Lester at the TUF 9 finale after losing in the semis to DaMarques Johnson during his time on the show. I like Riddle's wrestling and jiu jitsu game over that of Osipczak and see Riddle getting the nod with a unanimous decision.
Terry Etim vs. Shannon Gugerty: This should be a pretty exciting bout for the U.K. crowd between two skilled submission fighters in the 155 lb. division. Gugerty picked up a first round guillotine choke victory over Matt Grice in his most recent bout at UFC 100, and Etim pulled of a D'Arce choke submission against Justin Bucholz at UFC 99. Etim comes into this one the favorite and I'll roll with him here with a first round submission in an impressive performance.
Paul Taylor vs. John Hathaway: Paul Taylor has had a tough time against some very stiff competition in the Octagon thus far, and has only been able to squeak out two decision victories in five appearances with the UFC. Hathaway has done nothing but win in his career, moving to 11-0 in June against Rick Story at UFC 99. Hathaway keeps his record unblemished with a hard fought unanimous decision victory.
Main Televised Card
Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley: Longtime journeyman and multi-time UFC vet Aaron Riley welcomes the latest lightweight Ultimate Fighter to the UFC officially, and he will present an extremely tough test for Pearson in this one. Pearson looked impressive through his first few victories on the show and then fought a smart but tough fight against Andre Winner in June to capture the crown. Most TUF winners find some early success in the Octagon, but Riley's going to be an extremely difficult guy for Pearson to defeat here, and in fact Riley is the favorite coming in. This should be a close fight but Riley will keep himself on the winning track and disappoint the U.K. fans on Saturday night with the unanimous decision victory.
James Wilks vs. Matt Brown: The other TUF 9 winner has also been tagged with a very difficult bout to begin his UFC career, but for James Wilks he may still have some surprises up his sleeve. Against Johnson at the finale in June, Wilks showed off a ridiculously skilled ground game en route to capturing the Ultimate Fighter title for that season's welterweight tournament. Matt Brown hits hard and often, and he'll need to take Wilks out before the TUF winner has a chance to get it to the ground. If Wilks can bring the fight to the ground this one will likely be his for the taking, and whether he's able to do that or not will be the story in this one. I like what Brown has done in his last few fights, but I like Wilks to find a way to get this one to the ground and pick up a submission and slight upset in the third round.
Denis Kang vs. Michael Bisping: Kang has yet to live up to the hype and expectations in the UFC that came along with him from his days in Pride, but he's making progress with each fight. Michael Bisping, on the other hand, is coming off one of the most brutal losses in recent memory to Dan Henderson at UFC 100. Kang is looking at this fight as a statement bout, and one in which he can prove he's still the fighter he was in Japan. Bisping will have questions about his chin after the Hendo loss as well as overall interest in where his head is at getting back into the cage. I think this one is Kang's and he continues what Dan Henderson started, knocking out Bisping in the third round.
Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy: Swick is looking at this bout as his ticket to a Welterweight Title shot with Georges St. Pierre, and Dan Hardy is seeing this as one of the biggest fights of his career to this point. With the hometown crowd in front of him, Hardy's going to have a very tough task to take out the Ultimate Fighter season one alum. This one's a tough bout to call, as we haven't had a chance to see how Hardy can take a punch, and rest assured he'll take a few in this one, and we haven't seen Swick in trouble in a long time. For as much as I'd like to see the upset from Hardy here, I don't think it's in the cards and Mike Swick picks finishes him off in the second round via TKO.
Main Event Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera: Randy Couture comes into this bout because the UFC needed a main event for Manchester. After his fight of the year candidate loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in August, Couture made the decision to move back down to the other division he once called his own as Champion. Brandon Vera comes into his first headlining bout in the UFC trying to make good on the expectations and promise he showed when he burst onto the heavyweight scene in 2006. Coincidentally enough, Vera's UFC debut came on the same night as Couture's last light heavyweight bout, as the now 46 year old retired following his second loss to Chuck Liddell at that event. The question of whether or not Randy Couture can continue to be a viable competitor at his age will be answered on Saturday night, but it's going to require Brandon Vera stepping up and fighting the best fight he has had since defeating Frank Mir at UFC 65. He's had just one impressive performance since that win, and will make a significant move toward becoming the Champion he claimed he'd become with a victory over the UFC Hall of Famer. This is an extremely tough fight to call, but I think we find out "The Truth" in Manchester, and Vera does what he's supposed to do to pick up a convincing decision victory. I'd love to see Couture pick up the win and keep going in his career, but it's going to be a very tough task against a faster Brandon Vera, as he showed in the Nogueira bout that he has lost a step. The Manchester fans will get to find out first, but the rest of us can see Couture and the rest of this card live on Spike TV. Check in here for live round-by-round coverage of all the action as it airs Saturday night!
Here are my quick bets for the MMATorch Betting Contest:
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