Randy Couture displayed that age is not slowing him down just yet, but is catching up with him.   At 46 years old, the former UFC champion Couture (17-10) was able to score a slim victory over the much younger challenger Brandon Vera (11-4) in a light heavyweight clash at UFC 105 in Manchester, England.

In an uneventful fight with a limited amount action, the two former Greco-Roman wrestlers spent the majority of the fight in the clinch along the cage wall.   Couture was able to maintain control, keeping Vera pinned along the cage wall while delivering surgical blows to the head and body.   The referee was active, breaking the clinches, but Couture imposed his will taking Vera back to the cage with consistency.

Action torqued up a notch midway through round two shortly after a clinch was broken.  Vera was able to keep keep his distance and land a sharp leg kick to the midsection which dropped Couture to the mat.  Vera attacked quickly, landed some blows, but was unable to put Couture away.

Couture moved the fight back to the cage wall in the third round, dictating the pace and focus of the fight.   Couture again surgical delivered shots with Vera smiling that the blows were not phasing him.  After another re-start in the last minute, Vera attacked quickly landing a shot which stunned Couture.  Vera followed through with a takedown and gained a mount.  Couture was able to tie him up and stop Vera from scoring any major blows, perhaps saving the fight.

Awaiting the decision in the middle of the cage, Vera’s camp looked confident they had taken the fight.  As ring announcer declared all score cards in favor of Couture at 29-28, Vera seemed stunned by the loss.

Vera really has nobody to blame for this loss but himself.  Couture brought very little to the cage on this evening and Vera was happy to oblige, allowing Couture to lay on him and be inactive throughout the fight.  Vera showed way too much respect throughout the fight and really only put forward two offensive attacks over the fifteen minutes in the cage.  His loss to Couture eliminate any future plans Vera had at a potential championship shot or even a fight against the other top contenders in the light heavyweight division.

As for Couture, it appears that it is time for him to seriously consider retirement, regardless of his newly-minted multiple fight contract with the UFC.  Couture will undoubtedly be offered another championship shot at light heavyweight at the expense of more deserving fighters.  On this evening, Couture displayed fading skills against a second-tier fighter in a lower weight class.

As with boxing, the greats of the sport seem to find it hard to call it quits.

Tags: brandon vera, mixed martial arts, mma, randy couture, ufc

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 10:00 pm and is filed under mma, ufc. 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.