Couture, fighting at light heavyweight for the first time since 2006, edged Brandon Vera in the evening’s main event, battling through stinging body kicks to control the pace of the fight while landing occasional combinations to earn the unanimous nod.

Couture rebounded from back-to-back losses to improve to 17-10,  though he’ll likely need another win to earn a shot at the winner of the upcoming rematch between 205-pound title-holder Lyoto Machida and challenger Mauricio “Shogun” Rua possible. Vera falls to 11-4 with the loss, snapping a two-fight winning streak.

In the UFC 105 co-headliner, Hardy stunned Mike Swick early then rocked him again in the second and third frames to earn a unanimous decision victory.

Hardy ups his record to 23-6 with the win, including four-straight inside the UFC to earn a shot at welterweight title-holder Georges St-Pierre early next year, while Swick had his four-fight win streak stopped in dropping to 14-3.

In other main card action, Michael Bisping rebounded with a second-round knockout of Denis Kang, Matt Brown scored a second-round knockout of James Wilks, and Ross Pearson earned a second-round TKO of Aaron Riley.

On the UFC 105 preliminary card, John Hathaway, Terry Etim, Nick Osipczak, Dennis Siver, Alexander Gustafsson, and Andre Winner all earned victories.

The complete results for UFC 105 were:

• Randy Couture def. Brandon Vera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Dan Hardy def. Mike Swick via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Michael Bisping def. Denis Kang via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:24
• Matt Brown def. James Wilks via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 2:27
• Ross Pearson def. Aaron Riley via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) — Round 2, 4:38
• John Hathaway def. Paul Taylor via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Terry Etim def. Shannon Gugerty via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 2, 1:24
• Nick Osipczak def. Matthew Riddle via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 3:53
• Dennis Siver def. Paul Kelly via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 2:53
• Alexander Gustafsson def. Jared Hamman via knockout (punches) — Round 1, 0:41
• Andre Winner def. Rolando Delgado via knockout (punch) — Round 1, 3:22

For complete UFC coverage stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

Both Couture and Vera tipped the scale at 204 pounds, while welterweight contenders Mike Swick (170) and Dan Hardy (171) and middleweight notables Michael Bisping (186) and Denis Kang (185) also made weight without issue.

The official weigh-in results for UFC 105 were:

MAIN CARD

• 205: Randy Couture (204) vs. Brandon Vera (204)
• 170: Mike Swick (170) vs. Dan Hardy (171)
• 185: Michael Bisping (186) vs. Denis Kang (185)
• 170: James Wilks (169) vs. Matt Brown (170)
• 155: Ross Pearson (156) vs. Aaron Riley (155)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• 170: Paul Taylor (170) vs. John Hathaway (170)
• 155: Terry Etim (155) vs. Shannon Gugerty (155)
• 170: Nick Osipczak (170) vs. Matthew Riddle (171)
• 155: Paul Kelly (156) vs. Dennis Siver (155)
• 205: Alexander Gustafsson (203) vs. Jared Hamman (204)
• 155: Andre Winner (155) vs. Roli Delgado (156)

Pictured: Randy Couture

A hall of famer and five-time champion, Couture (16-10) returned to the Octagon in 2007, winning back-to-back bouts over Tim Sylvia and Gabrial Gonzaga, but has since suffered two-straight losses to Brock Lesnar and most-recently in August Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Vera (11-3), a former heavyweight contender, dropped down to 205-pounds following losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum and has since gone 3-1, defeating Reese Andy, Mike Patt, Krzysztof Soszynski, while suffering a loss to Keith Jardine.

The Spike TV-televised event also includes Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang and Dan Hardy vs. Dong Hyun Kim, as well as TUF 9 winner James Wilks and Ross Pearson.

The current lineup for UFC 105 features:

• Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera
• Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang
• Dan Hardy vs. Dong Hyun Kim
• James Wilks vs. Matt Brown*
• Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley*
• DaMarques Johnson vs. Peter Sobotta*
• Paul Kelly vs. Denis Siver*
• Andre Winner vs. Roli Delgado*
• Terry Etim vs. Shannon Gugerty*
• Paul Taylor vs. John Hathaway*
• Nick Osipczak vs. Matt Riddle*
• Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jared Hamman*

*Not officially announced

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest UFC 105 news and UFC 105 rumors.

MMAFrenzy.com reported just a few days ago that the headlining bout would be Dan Henderson vs. Nate Marquardt, however when negotiations stalled, an alternative had to be found. Matt Hughes had even agreed to move up to middleweight and challenge title-holder Anderson Silva, but Silva would not agree to the bout, according to Inside Fights.

Randy Couture is a long time staple of the UFC, and will be moving back down to light heavyweight for this bout. He was just in action in a unanimous decision loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a heavyweight matchup at UFC 102 on August 29th. Couture will be looking to end a two fight skid in Manchester, while trying to fight his way back into contention in the light heavyweight division, a division in which he previously held the championship belt before losing it to Chuck Liddell in April of 2005. He has since held the UFC heavyweight belt, which he lost to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in November, 2008.

Vera was also last in action at UFC 102, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over Krzysztof Soszynski. In his matchup with Couture he will be looking to continue a two fight win streak, since suffering defeat to Keith Jardine in October of 2008. Vera started out strong in the UFC with first round victories over Justin Eilers, Assuerio Silva, and Frank Mir and even claimed he would one day hold the belt at both heavyweight and light heavyweight. However, since his victory over Mir, Vera has only gone 3-3 and hasn’t looked nearly as impressive as he did in those first three UFC outings.

UFC 105 is expected to air on Spike TV and also features Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang and Dan Hardy vs. Dong Hyun Kim.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest UFC 105 news and UFC 105 rumors.

Update: The UFC has officially confirmed this bout as the headliner for UFC 105.

The longest suspension was dolled out to Portland-native Ed Herman, who is sidelined indefinitely from a fight-ending knee injury suffered early in the second round of his middleweight preliminary matchup with Aaron Simpson.

Headliners Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Randy Couture were both issued 30 day precautionary suspensions following their three-round war in the UFC 102 main event that saw Nogueira capture a unanimous decision win.

Only two other fighters were issued medical suspensions lasting more than 30 days, as a laceration will put Chris Tuchscherer out of action for 45 days, while Tim Hague must sit out 60 days following his 7-second knockout loss to Todd Duffee.

In addition to the suspensions listed below, all UFC 102 competitors were issued 7-day mandatory minimum suspensions.

The complete list of UFC 102 medical suspensions includes:

• Randy Couture – Suspended for 30 days
• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – Suspended for 30 days
• Keith Jardine – Suspended for 30 days
• Chris Leben – Suspended for 30 days and must undergo CT scan for possible facial fractures
• Demian Maia – Suspended for 21 days
• Krzysztof Soszynski – Suspended for 30 days due to laceration
• Ed Herman – Suspended indefinitely for injury to left knee and must be cleared by doctor to return
• Chris Tuchscherer – Suspended for 45 days due laceration
• Justin McCully – Suspended for 30 days for possible left eye injury
• Tim Hague – Suspended for 60 days
• Mark Munoz – Suspended for 30 days for right elbow sprain
• Marcus Aurelio – Suspended for 14 days

Note: Where no injury is specified, medical suspensions are for precautionary reasons.

Pictured: Ed Herman

Nougiera, who defeated Couture by unanimous decision in the evening’s main event, earned $400,000 for the victory, while Couture received $250,000 in the loss.

The disclosed payroll for the pay-per-view event was $1,285,000.

The disclosed fighter salaries for UFC 102 were:

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ($400,000 – includes $150,000 bonus) def. Randy Couture ($250,000)
• Thiago Silva ($58,000 – $29,000 win bonus) def. Keith Jardine ($55,000)
• Jake Rosholt ($26,000 – $13,000 win bonus) def. Chris Leben ($30,000)
• Nate Marquardt ($80,000 – $40,000 win bonus) def. Demian Maia ($28,000)
• Brandon Vera ($70,0000 – $35,000 win bonus) def. Krzysztof Soszynski ($8,000)
• Aaron Simpson ($18,000 – $9,000 win bonus) def. Ed Herman ($24,000)
• Gabriel Gonzaga ($120,000 – $60,000 win bonus) def. Chris Tuchscherer ($10,000)
• Mike Russow ($20,000 – $10,000 win bonus) def. Justin McCully ($15,000)
• Todd Duffee ($10,000 – $5,000 win bonus) def. Tim Hague ($7,000)
• Mark Munoz ($24,000 – $12,000 win bonus) def. Nick Catone ($5,000)
• Evan Dunham ($14,000 – $7,000 win bonus) def. Marcus Aurelio ($13,000)

Remember, the salaries listed above are simply the figures the UFC is required to report to the OSAC, which exclude deductions for items such as taxes, licenses, and insurance, as well as additional payments, such as sponsorships, bonuses, and pay-per-view revenue.

For example, Nogueira and Couture, along with main card winners Nate Marquardt and Jake Rosholt, each took home an extra $60,000 “fight night” bonus for their performances on the card.

For more UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira coverage check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC 102 section.

Pictured: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

The pair went to war for the duration of the three-round bout, mixing it up on the feet with crisp striking that saw both legendary heavyweights connect with numerous combinations, while also showing off world class grappling when the fight hit the ground.

Nogueira proved to be too much for Couture on this night, as he was dropped to the canvas in the first and third rounds, and nearly submitted in both the first and second. “The Natural” fought through the chokes and survived the knockdowns to go the distance, but was unable to secure the finish he desperately needed to win the fight.

The judges awarded Nogueira a unanimous decision victory with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 in what is certain to be the event’s “Fight of the Night”.

With the win, Nogueira improves to 32-5-1 and remains in the heavyweight title-hunt, while Couture falls to 16-10 in defeat and has now lost two-straight.

In the UFC 102 co-headliner, Thiago Silva bounced back from the first loss of his career earlier this year to Lyoto Machida with a first-round knockout of Keith Jardine. Silva, now 14-1 following the win, remains on the long list on contenders at 205-pounds, while Jardine drops to 14-6-1 and looks for answers after losing his second-straight and fourth in his last six fights.

Nate Marquardt needed just 21-seconds to knockout jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia in a battle of middleweight contenders on the UFC 102 main card, then promptly called out 185-pound champ Anderson Silva, though he’ll likely need to go through fellow-contender Dan Henderson to earn the rematch.

In other main card action, Jake Rosholt submitted a returning Chris Leben in the third-round to earn the first win of his UFC career, while Brandon Vera again looked lackluster at 205-pounds in picking up a unanimous decision over Krzysztof Soszynski to kick off the pay-per-view.

The UFC 102 prelims were highlighted by Todd Duffee’s record-setting 7-second knockout of Tim Hague in his UFC debut, snapping the promotion’s previous mark of 8-seconds held by James Irvin over Houston Alexander in 2008.

Aaron Simpson logged an impressive opening round against Ed Herman on the preliminary card, before improving to 6-0 on his young-career after Herman was unable to continue early in the second after suffering a knee injury.

Gabriel Gonzaga’s impressive first-round TKO of newcomer Chris Tuchscherer was marred by a brutal kick to the groin that nearly stopped the contest. Tuchscherer managed to continue after the accidental foul but wasn’t the same fighter, as he was quickly downed a head kick from Gonzaga and finished on the ground midway through the first.

Mike Russow, Mark Munoz, and Evan Dunham all picked up decision victories in the remaining preliminary fights.

The official results for UFC 102 were:

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Randy Couture via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Thiago Silva def. Keith Jardine via KO (punches) — Round 1, 1:35
• Jake Rosholt def. Chris Leben via submission (arm-triangle) — Round 3, 1:30
• Nate Marquardt def. Demian Maia via KO (punch) — Round 1, 0:21
• Brandon Vera def. Krzysztof Soszynski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Aaron Simpson def. Ed Herman via TKO (injury) — Round 2, 0:17
• Gabriel Gonzaga def. Chris Tuchscherer via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 2:27
• Mike Russow def. Justin McCully via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
• Todd Duffee def. Tim Hague via KO (punch) — Round 1, 0:07
• Mark Munoz def. Nick Catone via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• Evan Dunham def. Marcus Aurelio via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)

Click here for more UFC 102 coverage, and stop by MMAFrenzy.com tomorrow for extensive post-UFC 102 coverage.

Pictured: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Couture, the 46-year-old UFC hall of famer and former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, weighed in at 220-pounds, while the former UFC and PRIDE title-holder Nogueira tipped the scale at 231-pounds.

Light heavyweights Keith Jardine (205) and Thiago Silva (205), who square off in the UFC 102 co-main event, and featured middleweight contenders Nate Marquardt (185) and Demian Maia (185) were all on weight for their main card matchups.

Don’t forget to stop by MMAFrenzy.com tomorrow for live UFC 102 results and coverage, as well our fight night recap and post-event news.

The complete weigh-in results for UFC 102 were:

MAIN CARD

• 265: Randy Couture (220) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (231)
• 205: Keith Jardine (205) vs. Thiago Silva (205)
• 185: Nate Marquardt (185) vs. Demian Maia (185)
• 205: Brandon Vera (205) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (205)
• 185: Chris Leben (185) vs. Jake Rosholt (185)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• 185: Ed Herman (185.5) vs. Aaron Simpson (185)
• 265: Gabriel Gonzaga (259) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (258)
• 265: Justin McCully (238) vs. Mike Russow (260)
• 265: Tim Hague(263.5) vs.Todd Duffee (251)
• 185: Nick Catone (185.5) vs. Mark Munoz (185.5)
• 155: Marcus Aurelio (156) vs. Evan Dunham (155)

Click here for more UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira coverage.

Sherdog first reported the injury and replacement earlier Monday.

Soszynski (18-8-1), an IFL veteran who advanced to the semis on The Ultimate Fighter 8, has won three-straight bouts inside the Octagon and six-straight overall. After defeating Shane Primm with the “Submission of the Night” at the TUF 8 Finale in December, “The Polish Experiment” won back-to-back fights in April and May over Brian Stann and Andre Gusmao.

Vera (10-3), a former heavyweight contender who had lost 3 out of 4 previous fights, rebounded in March with a second-round leg kick TKO of Mike Patt to improve his UFC record to 6-3 since making his Octagon debut in 2005.

According to MMAjunkie, Hamill, who is coming off back-to-back knockouts of Reese Andy and Mark Munoz, suffered a meniscus tear and will soon undergo surgery to repair the injury, but is expected to resume training in 3 to 4 weeks.

For the latest UFC rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.

[Pictured: Krzysztof Soszynski]

Joining a heavyweight headliner between Randy Coture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on the pay-per-view main card are Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva, Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt, Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt, and Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera.

The event’s now-complete 11-bout lineup features:

MAIN CARD

• Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
• Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
• Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
• Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt
• Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer
  
• Wilson Gouveia vs. James Irvin
• Junior Dos Santos vs. Justin McCully
• Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow
  
• Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
• Evan Dunham vs. Matt Veach