Pros Pick: Couture vs. Vera

Gabe Ruediger: Not sure on this one. Randy typifies the term competitor and is dangerous against anyone. Vera has shown great striking but hasn’t seemed to put everything together at light heavyweight. The deciding factor will be the wrestling, which Randy is superior and Vera doesn’t use, even though people talk about his ability. In the past, I’ve bet against Randy and been wrong, so I’m going Randy by decision.

Kit Cope: Only for the fact that the lights have been turned off for Randy a few times lately do I think that Brandon has a shot in winning this fight. I know a lot of people are talking about Randy’s focus due to drama in his personal life, but Randy’s a mental beast. I don’t think that’ll be a factor for him. Brandon wins this one with a lot of footwork and lateral movement in a fairly boring fight.

Erin Toughill: Because my husband, Neil Melanson, is Randy’s head ground coach and Randy has always been a favorite of mine, I have to say Randy. I have no doubt Vera will try to shine, but Randy will negate everything and have an unstoppable offense. Never been a Vera fan anyway, but it should be an exciting fight. Randy via TKO in the third round.

Jason Zorthian: Couture [by] first-round ground-and-pound.

Josh Kyrejto: I’d agree with [Zorthian’s] statement; or decision and Randy just controls him on the ground the whole time.

Travis Lutter: I think Randy should win this one, but can Randy take his shots? I am excited to watch Randy fight again and hope he wins.

Frank Shamrock: Randy is the king of MMA, and I am picking him to win against Vera. Randy is so tough that sometimes when he fights, John McCarthy has to tap the mat.

Jason Lambert: Vera by KO/TKO.

Nick Thompson: Vera will be too quick for Randy. Vera by KO.

Kevin Burns: I think this is the best weight class for both Randy and Vera. That said, I believe Randy will have a strength advantage, which will allow him to wear on Vera in the clinch. I also see Randy dominating the ground-and-pound war. Randy by decision.

Billy MacDonald: I honestly can’t wait to see how this one is going to pan out. I become more of a Brandon Vera fan every time I watch him fight. That being said, I still don’t see a way to not pick Randy in this one, so I will take Randy Couture via decision.

Mike Ciesnolevicz: I can't lie; I’m not overly excited for this fight or this UFC card, in general. I don’t really care too much who wins, and I honestly don’t really know who to pick, but if I had to, I can see Randy grinding out a unanimous decision. I would be surprised if someone finished it before the 15 minutes were up.

Bill Mesi: I agree with Mike. Joe Silva’s wondering how the hell he’s picked the matchups for this card. Gotta go with Randy, not because I think he’s better, just that he’s a better striker than Vera is a wrestler. I think that’s how you decide when it comes to the classic wrestler versus striker fights.

Pros that picked Couture: 20
Pros that picked Vera: 11
Pros that could not decide: 2

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