Last night’s main event bout between Randy Couture and Brandon Vera may not have been the most exciting bout ever, but due to the fact it included one of the more intriguing figures in all of professional sports, namely the 46 year-old “Natural,” you better have been heavily sedated if you weren’t pumped up at least a little bit.
In the end, Couture managed to control more of the bout with his clinch work along the fence, which is probably why the former champ was awarded the UD win. On the other hand Vera inflicted the most damage in the fight, including a couple of hard body kicks to Couture, which had livers around the world ducking for cover. Speaking after the bout, Vera stated that he thought he had done enough to win the fight. (Thanks to UFC.com for the quotes)
“I thought I won,” said Vera. “I left it all out there.”
“They said ‘unanimous decision’ and I remember thinking in my head, ‘yeah, I did it,’” elaborated Vera at the post-fight press conference. “And then they said it was for Randy Couture and it was like a building toppling over. It was heavy on the heart. I walked out of the Octagon and just sat down, bewildered. There were a lot of mixed emotions, but this is why I do what I do.”
As usual Couture was the humble victor, citing his control of the action as to why he won the fight, while crediting Vera for his performance.
“It was a tough-ass fight, obviously,” said Couture. “Brandon definitely did his homework. He did a great job against the fence, making it real difficult to get hold of his hips and take him down.”
Tough-ass fight indeed. Who’s next for both dudes?
