One of the more intriguing match-ups the UFC has put together for the near term is taking place at 105 in Manchester, England. Former 2-division champ Randy Couture will meet aspiring champ and Filipino fight hope Brandon Vera.

Going into this battle, Vera is coming off a safely-played win over Krzysztof Soszynski while Couture has lost his past two fights at heavyweight to Minotauro Nogueira and Brock Lesnar. While a win is crucial in Brandon’s plans to become champ, Randy finds himself under considerably heavier pressure to have his hand raised across the pond. There certainly won’t be lack of motivation for “The Natural”, who easily floats between MMA’s 225 lbs. and 205 lbs. weight classes, thanks to strong rumors that he could get a crack at the winner of Lyoto Machida vs. Shogun Rua.

One of the issues I’ve taken notice of with Brandon’s training after a drop to LHW is lack of muscle depth in the pectoral region and down through the abdominals (note - not suggesting more weight). Increased lean mass to aid in the clinch would further allow Vera’s excellent wrestling to shine. As seen in the video below, it seems Vera knows this and is actively working to boost explosiveness for what will surely be his toughest test to date.