24-hours to go before the UFC takes hold of Manchester and fills the MEN Arena to the rafters. Once again, the UFC has proven they can do well outside of the US by selling out UFC 105. For all of us stuck back in the states we will be treated to the event free on Spike TV (airing via tape-delay at 8pm ET/PT).
Today's post includes Dana's latest vlog, as well as video of Randy Couture and Brandon Vera discussing their bout that headlines the card tomorrow night. Sports writers are torn on who to pick between these two. Couture offers impeccable wrestling, experience, and -arguably- a size advantage. Vera on the other hand has top-notch Muay Thai, youth, and speed. As of Friday morning Vegas odds put the match at -110 for Couture and -120 for Vera. That's almost dead even. For those not familiar with betting, normally in odds you have a "+" and a "-"; the "-" being your favorite. In this case, both men are "-" meaning in order to win $100, you will have to bet $120 (in Vera's case). The odds are so close that just 24-hours ago, Couture was the favorite at -120.
Randy Couture brings experience and brute strength to ring.He also brings wisdom; he knows to break down each opponent individually and weigh his strengths versus his opponents weaknesses.
"Solving the problem, solving the puzzel. It's always been what's kind of intrigued me about the sport is solving the equation. Each and every opponent is a problem, he poses different things, different strengths and weaknesses. Figuring out how I mesh up with that and what's going to put me in the right places to over come."
Brandon Vera is relying on his youth and agility to get him though what's sure to be a brutal fight with Randy Couture. Vera trains hard, every day, and explains that he feels on a level he's never been before. Maybe it's the pressure of his fight with Couture, maybe its his coaches pushing him that much more, either way, Vera will walk in to the cage Saturday night with both guns locked and loaded.
"Usually my coaches are saying 'Alright, you've got one more round' but my body is like, 'No, we can do three more. Let's get three more in before we go home and call it a day.' I don't know if that's from mental growing up, or because I'm fighting Randy, but this is somewhere I haven't been before in my training camp. I'm not going to try and slow him down, I don't want to slow him down at all. I want to try and push the pace right along with him and see who crumbles first. The question that I hope to find the answer to myself is how much punishment can his body take before he starts to breakdown."
And finally, I leave you with this Dana vlog. In the middle of the vlog you see Dana in London giving away tickets to this weekends event. The clip is maybe a couple of minutes long, but he was probably standing there for hours. It's something most fans don't realize about Dana, he loves talking to and interacting with fans. He'll stand somewhere for 3 hours meeting fans, and have the same smile and genuine interest for each person that meets him.
Miss something? Questions? Comments? E-mail me: samantha.lynn.johnson@gmail.com
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