Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang

Set to take place at UFC 105 in England, this fight will be going down on the same card as the Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera fight. The cards that they put together for the England events are usually pretty weak due to the time difference and they know they won’t sell as many pay per views, but this one is actually pretty solid.

As for the Denis Kang vs. Michael Bisping fight, it’s an interesting match up. Both fighters are pretty solid in every aspect of the game. Neither fighter is the best at any specific discipline but they’re both really well rounded. With this being his 45th fight, Denis Kang is the more experienced fighter of the two. Bisping has 20 fights, but half of those have been inside the Octagon.

Normally, that would indicate that he’s been up against some pretty tough competition but in Bisping’s case, that’s not exactly true. Up until recently, Michael Bisping has been extremely protected by the UFC. He’s had a pretty easy run considering that the majority of his fights have been in the light heavyweight division – which is by far the most competitive division that the UFC has.

It was extremely obvious that the UFC wanted him to be successful because they were trying to expand into the U.K market and they wanted Bisping to be the poster boy for the fans to cheer for. Even when he lost, they still gave him the victory. Just watch his fight against Matt Hamill to see what I mean.

Following the USA vs. UK Ultimate Fighter series, they gave Bisping some real competition in Dan Henderson and we all saw how that ended up. Henderson landed a crushing overhand right that knocked Bisping down and then if that wasn’t enough, he followed that up with a jumping hammer fist that knocked him out cold.

I’m not saying that Bisping isn’t a talented fighter because he is. I’m just stating the obvious by saying that he was protected, and now he’s going to get his chance to silence the critics like myself. He’s coming off a hard loss, and it should be interesting to see how he rebounds from it.

Denis Kang is no slouch and he’s a legitimate threat. Back in his PRIDE days, he was touted as the next big thing. However, over his last few fights, it seems like he hasn’t been in the right place mentally. He’s been making some really questionable mistakes that you wouldn’t expect from someone who’s a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Against Gegard Mousasi, he literally fell right into a triangle choke and against Alan Belcher, he got submitted by an elementary guillotine choke. Those sort of things shouldn’t happen to a guy as seasoned as Denis Kang. That being said, he looked great in his last fight against Xavier Poupa-Pokam and I’m expecting the same sort of performance against Bisping.

I’m expecting Denis Kang to be the betting favourite in this one but I imagine it won’t be by very much. This is as close to a toss up as you can get. Bisping has the additional motivation of fighting in front of his home crowd and he’ll be looking to rebound from the most devastating loss of his career. Denis Kang will be looking to make a statement and return to his old winning ways. This should be a good one!

Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera

Both Brandon Vera and Randy Couture have had their share of fights in the heavyweight division but at UFC 105, Couture will drop down and meet Vera at 205. Couture – who shocked most of us when he signed a 6 fight contract extension at 46 years of age – will be looking to redeem himself after a hard fought loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102.

This Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera showdown makes for an interesting clash of styles. There’s a lot of things to consider with this. There’s no doubt that Brandon Vera is the better striker out of the two. Randy Couture can box, but Brandon Vera brings fourth a more versatile attack on his feet due to his Muay Thai expertise. He’s also a couple inches taller than Couture and with those long limbs, I’m pretty sure he’ll have a reach advantage.

Couture got clipped by Lesnar in the stand up, who lets face it – doesn’t really have much of a stand up game at all. There’s no doubt that Brandon Vera is light years ahead of Lesnar when it comes to striking and he’s much, much faster. Add in the fact that Couture is aging and it’s a physiological fact that with age comes slower reaction times. If Vera is to pull out a victory here, it looks as though it’ll come via strikes if anything.

Randy Couture’s main strength is his wrestling. He was a 3 time division 1 all-American and he was a 3 time alternate for the Olympic team (1988, 1992, 1998). He’s extremely strong in the clinch and he’s great at dirty boxing. Against a typical striker, his key to an easy victory would be to just push them against the cage to neutralize their striking or take them down and work his ground and pound.

The thing is, Brandon Vera is no slouch in those disciplines either. He’s an 8 time grapplers quest champion, he trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Lloyd Irvin and he himself has a Greco Roman wrestling background. As a matter of fact, Brandon Vera used to train with Randy Couture at the Olympic training center before he made the transition into mixed martial arts.

I would still give the edge to Randy Couture when it comes to wrestling though. Even against the greatest wrestlers, Couture has never been overwhelmed in his career. He was able to manhandle Garbiel Gonzaga in the clinch and literally gave Tito Ortiz a spanking. I don’t see Couture – who’s only been submitted once in the last decade – tapping out to anything Vera might throw at him either.

So it comes down to this. Couture can box, but Brandon Vera a more well rounded striker. Brandon Vera can wrestle, but Couture is on a whole different level. If Couture doesn’t get knocked out, then I can really see this one going to the judges scorecards. I just hope for Couture’s sake that he’s learned how to check leg kicks after that Pedro Rizzo fight. Apparently he was in therapy for half a year following that fight to get his mobility back.

If these fighters decide to let loose in the middle of the ring, then this will be an awesome fight. But if they just tie each other up for 3 rounds against the cage (which I can sort of see happening), then we may be in for a snooze fest. Should be interesting to see how it all plays out.