| Brandon Vera: “I want to fight atleast twice this year!” |
Sportsnet.ca reports - It wasn’t that long ago that Brandon (The Truth) Vera was on a tear in the UFC heavyweight rankings. Four straight victories in the UFC over the course of a year, the last coming against former champion Frank Mir in November.
He was undefeated as a mixed martial artist and had all the tools, it seemed, to become the sport’s next superstar, with eyes on the championship belt.
Then all of sudden it all came to a halt. Fans wondered why. Not only were they not seeing Vera fight, they weren’t hearing from him. Some wondered if he was hurt. Then it was reported he was asking for too much money.
Well, "the truth" should be revealed soon.
Vera, who has been trying to fire his manager but can’t get into exact reasons, expects to be able to talk about everything soon. He was to go to arbitration with the California State Athletic Commission before the end of the month.
After that he hopes not only to be able to get his career back on track, but to be able to share why things got stalled in the first place. But his hands are tied in the meantime.
"I know it kind of sucks, man, I have to plead the fifth. But it’s just until the end of the month," Vera told Sportsnet.ca during a training session in Toronto earlier in July. "That’s why I really haven’t been saying anything. Because people are like, ‘How come Brandon doesn’t answer his fans or doesn’t talk about what he’s doing?’ Because I can’t."
The look on his face was telling. It was one of frustration — for himself and for his fans.
The crux of the issue is that apparently his manager Mark Dion, owner of the gym in San Diego, Calif., where Vera trains and resides, stalled his progress in the UFC at the contract level. It was Dion who reportedly rejected a new deal from the UFC without consulting his client.
That put Vera in a position where he couldn’t continue with Dion representing him. But he also can’t fight again until the situation is sorted out.
"I have one fight left on my deal (with the UFC)," Vera said. "I guess I’m just kind of waiting to get rid of my manager before I make my next move."
Vera’s last fight — the win over Mir at UFC 65 — was probably his most impressive in his relatively young but very impressive career. In a high-profile duel, the six-foot-two, 225-pound Vera took a mere 69 seconds to secure a TKO victory via strikes against the former heavyweight title holder.
Previous wins in 2006 came against Assuerio Silva at UFC 60 in late May by submission and Justin Eilers at UFC 57 in February, this one by knockout. None of the matches heard the second-round bell.
He has a perfect MMA record of 8-0, including a win at UFC Fight Night 2 in October 2005, and it appeared the native of Norfolk, Va., had earned himself a shot at then champion Tim Sylvia. Instead, Randy Couture came out of nowhere (read: retirement) to upset Sylvia and take the belt at UFC 68 in March.
It was then that the rumours really started flying, with people wondering why no deal was able to be worked out to have Vera take on Sylvia. It has been difficult for him not being able to truly address the situation for so many months now.
"I can only say so much and I’m stuck," Vera explained. "It’s more frustrating and then on top of that, I can’t fight yet. So I’m just frustrated all the way around.
"But I’m still training, I’m still doing stuff."
At this point, it’s anyone’s guess who he would face first when he is able to finalize the firing of his manager and re-establish his UFC contract. There is no shortage of top fighters in the division within the organization, especially after the purchase of PRIDE. But the UFC may want to ease him back in after a long layoff at the competitive level.
One is for certain: once he’s free to fight again, the man who turns 30 in October doesn’t want go back to the sidelines anytime soon. In fact, he hopes to get back on the same pace that saw him fight four times in the span of just over a year.
"I want to fight at least twice this year (in 2007)," Vera admitted. "I’ve got to get myself back into how I was before I stopped. Man, I was on a roll, and then everything kind of came to a halt.
"Gotta get back into the groove."
