Props: Planet MMA

Check out more from Brandon Vera, Mike Swick and Michael Bisping after the jump.

“The Truth”

“Quick”

“The Count”

“This Saturday night I will be competing for the first time since winning season nine of The Ultimate Fighter back in June. Winning The Ultimate Fighter has allowed me to improve as a fighter and offered numerous doors for me. I’m now able to train like a UFC fighter and learn from the best coaches in the game, as opposed to just training like an aspiring mixed martial artist … It’s been a long time coming and this UFC 105 show is going to be an incredible event … I’m sure the noise and the magnitude of the event will knock me for six on Saturday night, but I’m doing my best to be prepared for it. One thing I’m definitely prepared for is my opponent Matt Brown.”

– The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 welterweight winner James Wilks blogs on Telegraph about his second straight underdog role (+125) coming into the November 14 “Couture vs. Vera” event against Matt Brown (-155). “Lightning” upset the heavily-favored DaMarques Johnson to win the crown at the June 20 TUF finale by dominating both on the ground and on his feet — leaving many observers (including yours truly) feeling a bit hustled after a competent but hardly spectacular run through the Spike TV reality show. In any case, if Wilks continues to perform like he did back in June, it could be a long night for “The Immortal.”

… Mike Swick?

“I want to thank Dan Hardy for this trophy. It means a lot. Coming runner-up in a press conference is pretty cool, but I want everybody to know that I’m going to give this right back to him after our fight.”

To catch the impromptu award ceremony check out the replay of the UFC 105 pre-fight press conference here. For an image gallery of today’s festivities, head over to Combat Lifestyle here.

Props: Las Vegas Sun

Quoteworthy:

“Fighting is different than other sports because you’re not competing as regularly. If a football player has a bad game, he’s allowed to do that because he plays once or twice a week. With fighting, it’s once every few months. So if you have a bad night, it gets built up. It’s not like my career is in shatters. I’m 18-2. The two guys I’ve lost to are former champions. There’s no shame in that. I do feel pressure in wanting to come back and perform, but it’s not like I’m finished as some people seem to think. It’s going to take more than one loss for me to hang up my gloves; that’s for sure.”

England’s-own, Michael Bisping, talks about his upcoming showdown against Denis Kang at UFC 105 from the Manchester Evening News (MEN) Arena in Manchester, England, on Nov. 14. “The Count” is coming off perhaps one of the most memorable knockouts in UFC history, getting demolished by a crushing Dan Henderson right hand/flying forearm combination at UFC 100 last July. It was just his second loss in 20 fights and the former TUF coach/contestant refuses to be defined by the defeat. How will he be defined after Saturday night?

Full replay after the jump.

Replay courtesy of UFC.com.

It’s time to start thinking about getting your bets in for UFC 105: “Couture vs. Vera” — we’re now less than three days away!

The Spike TV event from the MEN Arena in Manchester, England begins Saturday, Nov. 14. at 8 p.m. ET. That means, of course, that you should start to think about placing possible bets on the fight outcomes before it’s too late.

UFC 105 will feature a main event between former heavyweight champion, Randy “The Natural” Couture, returning to light heavyweight to battle Brandon “The Truth” Vera. In addition, hometown favorite Michael “The Count” Bisping will take on Pride FC standout, Denis Kang, in the co-featured fight of the night.

Welterweights Mike Swick and Dan Hardy are also booked to get busy inside the Octagon to help clarify the suddenly murky 170-pound number one contender situation.

Who will advance to challenge current division champion Georges St. Pierre? You can make a lot of scratch right now if you think you know the answer.

Here are the latest UFC 105 odds (- = favorite; + = underdog):

Time to put up or shut up for all us keyboard warriors … get in on the action before it’s too late.

For a little help with how to bet on UFC fights and what all the numbers mean check out this post right HERE (Disregard the UFC 85 references … all the information is still accurate and helpful.)

Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action on fight night (Saturday, Nov. 14). It’s going to be an exciting evening of fights so don’t miss it. And remember to check us out for all the pre, during and post-fight UFC 105 coverage you can handle.

To check out our complete UFC 105 event archive click here.

“Just thinking back, it wasn’t that long ago when I was sitting in the crowd as a fan, dreaming, thinking that I’d be there one day. Now, I’m here. He’s very well-rounded and he’s a solid, tough opponent. Basically, I think he’s a veteran of the sport and I respect everything he’s done. I’m not taking anything away from him, I just think I’m better than him in everything. I’m looking to take him out, whether that means by TKO or KO or whatever. I definitely think I’ve got better hands than him and I definitely think I’ve got better Muay Thai than him. Once that cage door shuts and the fight’s happening, you can’t see outside of the cage. It’s just me and Aaron Riley fighting.”

– The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 9 lightweight winner Ross Pearson talks to the Las Vegas Sun about taking on Aaron Riley at UFC 105 from the Manchester Evening News (MEN) Arena in Manchester, England, on Nov. 14. Pearson bulldozed his way through A.J. Wenn, Richie Whitson, and Jason Dent to eventually capture the TUF crown by besting Andre Winner via unanimous decision at the June 20 Finale earlier this year. “The Real Deal” is a scrappy 155-pounder with plenty of heart — and could find himself the topic of conversation among the division’s contenders with a convincing win over the venerable Riley.