If tonight’s line-up of college football doesn’t give you your fill or you don’t want to shell out $60 to see the “Pac Man” fight Cotto, be sure to flip over to Spike TV between 8-11 p.m. ET to see a re-broadcast of UFC 105.  105 is taking place today in Manchester, England, and features a bout between ageless wonder Randy “The Natural” Couture and Brandon “The Truth” Vera. In case you aren’t a MMA regular, we’ll give you the brief rundown of each of the 6 co-main event fighters:

Randy Couture:

Randy is one of the sports biggest stars, and tonight will be the first time you see him fight on free television rather than the UFC’s pay per view model. Couture is a three-time former heavyweight champion and a two-time light-heavyweight champion. In fact, 15 of his last 17 fights in the UFC have been for either the heavyweight or light-heavyweight strap. Randy also dabbles in acting, and can be seen in such classics as “The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior.” He’s been unsuccessful in his last two bouts, losing his heavyweight belt to genetic freak, Brock Lesnar, and then a tough 3 round decision to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. After competing against much larger opponents Couture has decided to go back down to the light-heavyweight division for possibly one last title run.

Brandon Vera:

Brandon was once the fastest rising heavyweight star in the UFC after knocking out former two-time heavyweight champion, Frank Mir. After a couple loses derailed him from the fast track, Brandon made the move to the light-heavyweight division and has put himself within 1 to 2 wins away from competing for the belt. Brandon’s wife, Kerry Vera, was featured on Oxygen’s Fight Girls, where she gained notoriety in the MMA community of her own winning the reality show’s mixed martial arts tournament. Brandon has aired his desire to be the first man to ever hold both the heavyweight and light-heavyweight belts simultaneously.

Mike Swick:

Swick popped on the scene after being featured on the UFC’s first season of The Ultimate Fighter at the 205 lb division. Since the show, Swick has gone 9-1 in the UFC, losing one decision to Yushin Okami. He was supposed to fight Martin Kampmann on September 19, 2009 at UFC 103. UFC President Dana White announced the winner of the Kampmann bout would be next in line to get an opportunity against welterweight champion, Georges St Pierre. Unfortunately, Swick was forced to pull out of the contest due to a concussion suffered while training, though it’s likely that the winner of the Spike TV featured fight tonight against Dan Hardy will end up being the #1 contender. Swick’s nickname, “Quick,” refers to his hand speed and the typical duration of his fights.

Dan Hardy:

The Outlaw rocks a mohawk with red dye on the tip and could be the current day pound-for-pound champ in trash talking. Despite being somewhat gimmicky, Dan Hardy is now 3-0 in the UFC with a chance to fight for the title if he can provide an impressive win over Mike Swick. Hardy is a UK native, so expect the crowd to favor the heavy hitting Brit.

Michael Bisping:

Bisping is another of the UK’s top MMA talents. He was a win away from a title shot prior to UFC 100, where he was knocked out cold by Dan Henderson on the biggest stage in MMA history. Now Bisping is trying to “earn his respect back,” in a fight against very talented, veteran fighter, Denis Kang.

Denis Kang:

Kang has gained most of his notoriety in overseas promotions and has been considered a top ten fighter for some time now. He’s a Canadian fighter that has trained with Georges St Pierre. He’ll be looking to spoil Bisping’s homecoming by taking home a “win bonus.” The winner of this bout is put right in the mix of contenders at 185 lbs. division.

Will father time finally catch up to Randy Couture? Will Mike Swick get his tenth victory in the UFC and earn himself a title shot against GSP? Will Bisping bounce back from the first knockout loss of his career? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 1:48 pm and is filed under MMA/Boxing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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