FanHouse BrandonVera

The referee Big John McCarthy once described Randy Couture as the most mentally impressive athlete in the history of MMA. The way Couture talks about his preparation for his UFC 105 fight with Brandon Vera explains why Couture has always excelled at the mental aspect of the sport.

As he prepares to fight Randy Couture on November 14 at UFC 105, Brandon Vera says he's in the best shape of his career.

On Nov. 14, Brandon Vera will get another opportunity to prove he is an elite light heavyweight fighter when he faces Randy Couture in the main event at UFC 105.

FanHouse spoke to "The Truth" about what he needs to do to defeat Couture, fighting on the same day as his fellow Filipino fighter, Manny Pacquaio, and his thoughts on his wife, Kerry Vera, facing Couture's ex-wife, Kim Couture, six days later. Check out the video interview below.

If the Lyoto Machida-Shogun Rua fight at UFC 104 had gone the way everyone expected -- Machida handily defeating Shogun to retain his title -- the UFC would have faced a quandary with its light heavyweight division. Machida would be perceived as so dominant that there wouldn't be any particularly interesting fights for him, and the stacked UFC light heavyweight division might have started to feel a little stale.

That's why Machida's controversial unanimous decision victory on Saturday night was a great thing for the UFC: It sets up a Rua-Machida rematch that will be a bigger fight than the first one, and it buys time for the UFC to re-establish some of its other light heavyweights as contenders to take on the Rua-Machida 2 winner.

Former champ Randy Couture returns to light heavyweight at UFC 105 in a main event fight against Brandon Vera on Nov. 14 at the MEN Arena in England.

Also on the card, Mike Swick fights for a possible welterweight title shot taking on Dan Hardy and Michael Bisping looks to get back on the winning track in a middleweight bout against Denis Kang.

Below is the fight card.

The UFC announced Tuesday the complete lineup for UFC 105 taking place Nov. 14 at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England.

In the main event, Randy Couture (16-10) moves back down to light heavyweight against fellow weight class hopper Brandon Vera (11-3).

In other featured bouts, the UK will be well-represented with Michael Bisping (18-2) looking to bounce back from his UFC 100 loss and Dan Hardy (22-6) aiming to position himself closer to the welterweight title in a fight against top contender Mike Swick (14-2).

Capitalizing on the enormous promotional resources that the UFC will pour into its November fight between Randy Couture and Brandon Vera, Strikeforce is poised to offer a November Couture vs. Vera fight of its own: Kim Couture vs. Kerry Vera.

The UFC has decided to book Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera as the main event for UFC 105, and FanHouse has learned that one of the organization's original choices for that spot -- Dan Henderson vs. Nate Marquardt -- won't be taking place at the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England, after all.

Late last week, Henderson, a free agent, told FanHouse that he was hoping to get a raise before agreeing to fight Marquardt or anyone else.

A main event of Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera is reportedly in the works for UFC 105 on November 14 in Manchester, England, signaling that one of the best and most popular fighters in MMA history is prepared for a move down in weight class -- and a step down in quality of opposition.

The Couture vs. Vera fight, which has been reported by Bloody Elbow, Sherdog and others, has not been officially announced by the UFC. But with the card now less than nine weeks away, it would provide the UFC with a main event that can get fans to buy tickets, which go on sale Monday -- and it would provide the UFC fans who watch fights on Spike but can't afford to purchase pay-per-views a rare chance to see Couture. UFC 105 is expected to be shown on Spike on tape delay.

PORTLAND, Ore. - In a fight eight years in the making, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira beat fellow former champion Randy Couture via unanimous decision to win the main event of UFC 102 on Saturday at the Rose Garden.

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