THE CANADIAN PRESS

MANCHESTER -- UFC Hall of Famer Randy (The Natural) Couture eked out a close decision over Brandon (The Truth) Vera in a drab light-heavyweight fight Saturday at UFC 105.

The mixed martial arts contest was hardly a barnburner, with the two stuck in a clinch for much of the 15 minutes.

The three judges scored it 29-28 for the 46-year-old Couture, who snapped a two-fight losing streak. Vera probably had reason to be unhappy at the decision.

"I thought I won," said Vera. "I left it all out there. ... I don't know man, I don't know."

"Thanks judges," he added sarcastically.

Said Couture: "It was tough-assed fight, obviously."

"It was close fight," he added. "I agree that it could have went either way. I wouldn't have been terribly disappointed had the decision gone the other way."

In the co-main event before 16,693 at the M.E.N. Arena -- a European attendance record for the UFC -- English welterweight Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy won a decision over American Mike (Quick) Swick in a war of attrition contested mainly at the fence for the first two rounds before opening up in the third.

The 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 victory earns Hardy a title shot at Canadian Georges St. Pierre, who was watching cageside. The champion, looking stylish in a suit and open-necked shirt, entered the cage to shake his hand, sportingly saying Hardy presented a "big threat."

"He handled Swick easily," UFC president Dana White said. "That is impressive... He did something I didn't expect him to do tonight. He whupped Mike Swick's ass.""

Earlier, English middleweight Michael (The Count) Bisping scored a much-needed victory by stopping Canadian Denis Kang at 4:42 of the second round. That bout earned both fighters a US$40,000 bonus for fight of the night.

It was a good night for English fighters, who went 7-3 on the card.

Couture ran a gauntlet of enthusiastic fans, who pawed at him as he entered the arena to Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir."

Vera, 32, opened fast against Couture with a left high kick and right hand. They clinched after that and were stuck to each other like glue at the fence. Referee Marc Goddard separated them late in the round but seconds later it was back to the fence and the round ended to some boos.

Couture, who took a finger in the eye early in the second, soon had Vera backed into the fence again and the crowd didn't like it. The fighters were separated again and Vera hurt Couture with a kick to the body and follow-up punch. Couture, visibly in pain, backed away and ended up on his back with Vera on top. Vera (11-4) was unable to take advantage and the referee stood them up again.

"I think he moved my heart with that shot," Couture said of the body kick.

In the third, Couture (17-10) punished Vera at the fence with a flurry of punches and then it was back to the clinch. Vera scored with some late body kicks. There were more boos and the two hugged at the fence, before Vera took Couture down. But Couture got back up and the two were throwing as the fight ended.

Much of the Hardy-Swick bout was also spent in the clinch at the fence in the first round, with neither man getting an advantage.

But Hardy (23-6 with one no contest, including 4-0 in the UFC) wobbled Swick early in the second with a head shot. Swick survived and they went to the fence again, with both men scoring this time. Broken up by the referee, they exchanged blows in the middle of the cage with Hardy having the edge in counter-punching.

The pair came out swinging in the third, with Swick (14-3) seeming to tire. Hardy got him to the ground but the referee stood them up when the action slowed. Both men connected in the ensuing exchange but Hardy looked fresher as the fight ended to cheers from the crowd.

Unable to take the fight to the ground, Swick engaged Hardy on his feet and lost the standup battle.

Bisping, who was coming off a devastating loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 100 in July, said before the fight he needed to win and win impressively. He looked up for it with the crowd rocking to Blur's "Song 2" as he entered the arena after Kang, who was soundly booed when he was introduced.

Kang (32-12-1 with two no contests) put Bisping down with a right less than two minutes in, working to improve position from half-guard to mount. Bisping (19-2) fought him off but took some elbows doing it and spent the rest of the round on his back. But Kang, a Vancouver native who now calls Montreal home, was unable to really profit from the position.

It was Bisping who put Kang on his back in the second -- three times, leaving the Canadian dazed and bloodied. He hung on gamely but Bisping eventually put him away, pounding away at the fence until the punishment was stopped at 4:24 of the round.

England's Ross (The Real Deal) Pearson, winner of the lightweight division of Season 9 of "The Ultimate Fighter," showed crisp striking and a bristling arsenal of kicks and knees in an impressive TKO win over veteran American Aaron Riley (28-12-1).

"This is my life now," said Pearson (12-3). "I love training, I love fighting."

The former bricklayer from Sunderland split open Riley's face with a knee, prompting referee Goddard to stop the bout at 4:38 of the second round after consulting the ringside doctor.

James (Lightning) Wilks, the American-based Brit who won the welterweight portion of TUF's Season 9, did not fare as well, losing by TKO to American Matt (The Immortal) Brown.

After fighting off an armbar, Brown (13-7) rolled into mount and hit the turtled Wilks a dozen times before referee Leon Roberts stepped in at 2:27 of the third round.

Brown, a tough customer who beat up Pete Sell last time out, resisted most of Wilks' takedown attempts and stunned Wilks (7-3) with a flying knee to the torso in the second round.

Welterweight John (The Hitman) Hathaway bullied Paul (Relentless) Taylor on the ground en route to a unanimous lopsided decision in a rare all-English matchup.

Hathaway (13-0) used his strength, size and wrestling skills against Taylor, who prefers the fight on his feet. He took Taylor (10-5-1) repeatedly and kept him there. Taylor, known for engaging in slugfests, was bloodied and bruised by the end of the second round. His face took a further battering in the third.

German lightweight Denis Siver upset England's Paul (Tellys) Kelly with a spinning back kick to the liver, toppling him backwards to the canvas midway through the fight. Kelly was clearly hurt and offered token resistance when he was allowed to get back to his feet. Referee Dan Miragliotta, seeing Kelly had nothing left as Siver punched away, quickly stepped in at 2:53 of the second round.

Siver got $40,000 for knockout of the night.

It marked the second time Siver (15-6) has won in the UFC with a spinning back kick. And this one left its mark. Kelly (10-2) was hanging onto two cornermen as he returned unsteadily to the locker-room.

English lightweight Terry Etim submitted American Shannon Gugerty with an impressive arm-in guillotine choke and body triangle at 1:24 of the second round. Gugerty (12-4) held on for as long as he could but his legs were twitching when he finally tapped out.

Etim (14-2) created the opening with a pair of vicious kicks and then pulled guard to lock in the choke. He collected $40,000 for submission of the night.

England's Nick Osipczak stopped American Matt Riddle at 3:53 of the third round of an entertaining up-and-down welterweight affair. Osipczak (5-1) finally mounted Riddle (3-1) with less than two minutes left and pounded away until the referee stepped in.

In a battle of UFC newcomers, Swedish light-heavyweight Alexander (The Mauler) Gustafsson improved to 9-0 with a 41-second knockout of Jared Hamman with a right hand that sent the American's mouthpiece flying.

English lightweight Andre Winner, runner-up to Pearson in "The Ultimate Fighter," opened the card with a bang when he knocked out American Roli (The Crazy Cuban) Delgado with an overhand right at 3:22 of the first round.