Couture & Stann Preview UFC on FOX: Shogun vs. Vera

UFC Hall of Famer & Middleweight Contender Break Down

Co-Main Event and Keys to Victory for Each Fighter

New York, NY – UFC is buzzing around the promise that one of the co-main event winners from Saturday night’s summer showdown will be next in line for a shot at the light heavyweight title. UFC on FOX analysts Randy Couture and Brian Stann offered their thoughts on what’s at stake at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Saturday and keys to victory for each competitor.

Couture is the only UFC fighter to ever win the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight titles and became the oldest man ever to win a UFC title at the age of 43.  Stann, a former U.S. Marine, was originally scheduled to fight Hector Lombard and headline the Aug. 4 event, but a shoulder injury forced him off the card. Stann’s next fight is at UFC 152 against Michael Bisping.

UFC ON FOX: SHOGUN VS. VERA: Saturday, Aug. 4 (8:00-10:00 PM ET)

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida vs. Ryan “Darth” Bader

Stann on what Bader needs to rely on to counter Machida’s unique fighting style: “Any fight Machida is in is interesting because of his unorthodox and very effective striking. Bader had to modify the way he trains for this fight. He has new coaches with a new strategy and smarter training. That all going to improve a guy as athletic as Bader. He will look to use his wrestling to control this fight, but Machida has shown many times that his footwork combined with his counter-strike style are capable of handling that.”

Couture on how Bader can get the upper hand early on Machida: “Machida is elusive with a very unique style. It is distracting when you are trying to set up on him because his positioning is always the opposite of what you’d expect. He is underestimated as an athlete. Even Jon Jones – with all that speed and range – couldn’t really hit Machida. The challenge for Bader is finding out a way to surprise Machida. He has to wrestle him as much as possible and he can do that as a former NCAA wrestler that can really hit. Bader needs to get the takedown very quickly in the fight before Machida hits his stride.”

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Brandon “The Truth” Vera.

Couture on his experience fighting Vera and what he needs to avoid against Shogun: “Vera is a smart and instinctive fighter. He made adjustments very quickly against me to make it hard to take him down. I had to fight the second and third rounds differently than I planned to because Brandon was so good at adapting. He also hurt me badly with a kick to the liver in the second round. I don’t think Brandon realized how badly he’d hurt me with that kick. He let me off the hook and I was able to recover. Now he’s got a big chance here and has a real shot of getting the upset.”

Stann on how he sees Shogun and Vera matching up: “Rua’s coming off an amazing fight, albeit a loss, but an incredible performance against now title challenger Dan Henderson, while Vera has had flashes of brilliance in the Octagon earlier in his career. Rua is a very aggressive fighter which usually troubles Vera. Vera will have to make adjustments for this fight.”

Couture on what obstacles Shogun will have to contend with: “Rua is still one of the top contenders for the belt and should be feeling the pressure to impress on the night. But he’s had issues with his knees and you can’t discount that. Shogun always tries to end the fight early but I think this fight goes a while.”