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Ross “The Real Deal†Pearson (9-3-0) vs. Aaron Riley (28-11-1)
Ross Pearson entered the UFC after winning the UFC Ultimate Fighter 9 Lightweight Finals, defeating Andre Winner at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. Ross Pearson is a longtime veteran of the Goshin Ryu promotion, where he defeated Will Burke, Gavin Bradley, Mark Spencer and Cedric Celerier, while suffering a defeat to Curt Warburton. Ross Pearson will be entering the fight with a two fight winning streak in tact and hasn’t suffered a defeat in over a year. Ross Pearson will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with five victories coming by way of submission. Aaron Riley is a longtime veteran of MMA competition, having competed in top MMA promotions like the UFC, PRIDE, Hook N’ Shoot, Shooto and the International Fight League. While in the UFC, Aaron Riley has defeated Jorge Gurgel and Shane Nelson, while suffering losses to Shane Nelson, Robbie Lawler and Spencer Fisher. This fight against Ross Pearson will mark the third time Aaron Riley has fought in 2009 and the second time he has fought in three months. Aaron Riley will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with thirteen victories coming by submission.
My Prediction: Aaron Riley
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
James “Lightning†Wilks (6-2-0) vs. Matt “The Immortal†Brown (10-7-0)
James Wilks entered the UFC after winning the UFC Ultimate Fighter 9 Welterweight Finals, defeating Damarques Johnson at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. James Wilks is also a veteran of the King Of The Cage and Universal Above Ground Fighting promotions, where he defeated Ray Lizama, Roman Mitichyan and Shawn Nagano while suffering a defeat to Jimmy Smith. James Wilks will be entering the fight on a four fight winning streak and hasn’t lost a fight in over three years. James Wilks will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with four victories coming by way of submission. Matt Brown has had a successful run thus far in the UFC, defeating Matt Arroyo, Ryan Thomas and Pete Sell, while suffering a lone defeat to Dong Hyun Kim. Prior to entering the UFC in 2008, Matt Brown fought other top notch MMA veterans like Chris Lytle and Pete Spratt. Matt Brown will be entering the fight on a two fight winning streak and hasn’t lost a single fight in over a year. Matt Brown is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with ten victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Matt Brown
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Michael “The Count†Bisping (17-2-0) vs. Denis Kang (32-11-1)
Michael Bisping has had a successful run in the UFC thus far, attaining victories over Josh Haynes, Eric Schafer, Elvis Sinosic, Matt Hamill, Charles McCarthy, Jason Day and Chris Leben, while suffering defeats to Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson. In an interesting career note, four of Michael Bisping’s nine UFC fights have taken place in his home country of England. Prior to suffering the loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 78, Michael Bisping was on a fourteen fight undefeated streak that lasted over three years. Michael Bisping will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with eleven victories coming by knockout. Denis Kang has had an interesting run thus far in the UFC, defeating Xavier Foupa-Pokam and suffering a defeat to Alan Belcher. Denis Kang is a fighter who has primarily competed overseas, competing in MMA promotions like PRIDE, Spirit MC, Dream and Pancrase. While in PRIDE, Denis Kang defeated Murilo Rua, Akihiro Gono and Takahiro Oba, Andrei Seminov and Amar Suloev, while suffering a defeat to Kazou Misaki. Denis Kang is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with twenty seven victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Denis Kang
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Mike “Quick†Swick (14-2-0) vs. Dan “The Outlaw†Hardy (22-6-0)
Mike Swick has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Alex Schoenauer, Gideon Ray, Steve Vigneault, Joe Riggs, David Louiseau, Josh Burkman, Marcus Davis, Jonathan Goulet and Ben Saunders, while suffering a lone loss to Yushin Okami. Mike Swick also had a run in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, defeating James Gabert and Kengo Ura, while suffering a defeat to Chris Leben. Mike Swick will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with seven victories coming by knockout. Dan Hardy has had an undefeated fighter in UFC competition, defeating Akihiro Gono, Rory Markham and Marcus Davis. Dan Hardy is also a longtime veteran of the Cage Warriors Fighting Championships promotion, where he defeated Andy Melia, Aaron Barrow, Andy Walker, Lautaro Arborelo, Sami Berik, Matt Thorpe, Diego Gonzales, Danny Rushton, Alexandre Izidro, Willy Ni, Manuel Garcia and Chad Reiner, while suffering a loss to David Baron. Dan Hardy will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with eleven victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Dan Hardy
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
Randy “The Natural†Couture (16-10-0) vs. Brandon “The Truth†Vera (11-3-0)
Randy Couture has fought the majority of his MMA career in the UFC, defeating the likes of Tony Halme, Steven Graham, Vitor Belfort, Maurice Smith, Kevin Randleman, Pedro Rizzo, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Mike Van Arsdale, Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga, while suffering defeats to Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort, Josh Barnett, Ricco Rodriquez, Brock Lesnar and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. This fight against Brandon Vera will mark the first time in three years that Randy Couture has competed in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division. Randy Couture will be looking to use his ground and pound skills to win the fight, with seven victories coming by knockout. Brandon Vera has had an interesting run in the UFC, defeating Fabiano Scherner, Justin Eilers, Frank Mir, Assuerio Silva, Reese Andy, Michael Patt and Krzystoff Soszynski, while suffering defeats to Tim Sylvia, Fabricio Werdum and Keith Jardine. Brandon Vera also competed in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, defeating Andre Mussi and Mike Whitehead. In an interesting career note, Brandon Vera has gone winless every time he has competed in a UFC event in the UK. Brandon Vera will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with seven victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Brandon Vera
(Note: I will be providing live coverage of UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera right here on PWInsiderXTra on Saturday November 14th at 8pm EST.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
