UFC 105 Wrap-Up: The Book on Brandon Vera Is Still Open
by Luke Thomas on Nov 16, 2009 10:01 AM EST
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PrintThere was talk - much of it justifiable - that a fight with Couture was to be Vera's breakout moment. In fact, Vera himself seemed to signal he understood that while past performances had left fans and probably even UFC management a tad underwhelmed, a win over Couture could finally propel him to the elite status contender in the light heavyweight division.
But as we saw on Saturday, he didn't win, at least not on the judges scorecards.
Yet, this video demonstrates something about Vera that has always been somewhat lacking in his career even when his talent was omnipresent: a maturity about personal responsibility to make his career happen for himself. Despite a bitter loss and dubious, stinging decision, Vera already talks of moving forward. More importantly, he articulates critical self-reflection in realizing he could've had the kind of training that's making him the best fighter he's ever been for quite some time. That's as much regret as it is a wake up call. He's 32, so time is not on his side, but Vera requests a top 5 opponent for his next fight. If he gets one and is able to win a little more convincingly, the story of Brandon Vera will not be over.
There is life left in "The Truth". I look forward to the next chapter.
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Give em the loser of Rashad/thiago
by kanodogg on Nov 16, 2009 10:03 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Top Five Opponent Next for Vera
Since we can exclude a title shot against Machida from the possible matchups, as well as a match against Shogun, the remaining options appear to be, per Bloody Elbow’s consensus rankings:
Rashad Evans
Forrest Griffin
Thiago Silva
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Luiz Cane
The latter three, although not in the top 5, are in the top 10. Other possible opponents for Vera, as I see it, are:
Rich Franklin
Tito Ortiz
Mark Coleman
A long shot would be Vladimir Matyushenko, who despite being amongst the consensus top 25, has about as much name recognition to the fan base at large as anyone not in the top 25. Still, a win over Matyushenko would be a noteworthy achievement that should be able to get Vera in the mix with the top five in the division.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
Honestly, I wouldn’t want to fight Matyushenko right now until we’ve seen him against a bit stiffer competition. Maybe Vera is that guy, but Matyushenko went completely apeshit on Pokrajac’s face in impressive fashion, and his wrestling is something that can blanket guys on the floor.
Vera needs a guy who will stand in front of him. If Cane wasn’t heading into a bout with Rogerio, I’d picket for him to take on Vera.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Nov 16, 2009 10:28 AM EST up reply actions
I don’t see anything scheduled. That would be a good fight for both guys stylistically, but if Vera’s talking about fighting a top 5 fighter, obviously Cantwell isn’t.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
by Brett Jones on Nov 16, 2009 11:20 AM EST up reply actions
Not gonna lie, I just like seeing Steve get beat up
Still, a tune-up/confidence booster fight wouldn’t be a bad idea at this point, and Vera might look at a lesser opponent as a sign of a “sink-or-swim” situation. Also, I think it would be a fun fight to watch.
That’s kind of silly, though. In three of his four fights preceding the Couture fight, Vera fought Reese Andy, Mike Patt, and Kris-tof So-zin-ski. If you can beat the guys on that level and not the guys on the next level up, it stands to reason that you should go back to beating the guys you can beat before taking another crack at the guys you, thus far, have not.
Sure, Vera’s not the youngest fighter in the world, but neither is he Randy Couture. He can afford to have tune up fights here and there.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
My mistake. I read that was “would be a bad idea…”
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
And actually, Cantwell’s last opponent, Brian Stann, would be a hell of a guy to put in there with Vera.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
by Brett Jones on Nov 16, 2009 11:25 AM EST up reply actions
I think he will fade away.
Vera’s fight against Couture was symbolic of his carreer. Came out sharp with lots of promise. Got worn down against the fence. Showed a flash of brilliance but couldn’t captialize. Got worn down against the fence. Lost the decision. I don’t even see him as a gate keeper. Vera fades into the sunset while other new talent takes his spot.
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
Give him a rematch with Couture
and put it on the undercard.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
Well that’s not going to happen.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
by Brett Jones on Nov 16, 2009 10:46 AM EST up reply actions
That's what I'd like to see. It could be the co-mainevent under Silva-Evans..
But I doubt the UFC would want Randy to go against Vera again.. Maybe Vera should fight the loser of Tito/Forrest.
weoweoweo.deviantart.com -- @antontabuena
Due to the Questionable decision: "The only thing Fishbob does consistently is dissapoint."
by Anton Tabuena on Nov 16, 2009 10:53 AM EST up reply actions
Randy isn’t going to waste one of his last few fights on a rematch with Brandon Vera and I’m sure the promotion would rather use him in a bigger way coming off a win.
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by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 16, 2009 11:01 AM EST up reply actions
I think he lost
Because his dork cornermen were thugging it up by covering their faces with bandanas. Perhaps he needs guys who are more concerned with coming up with a good, winning strategy than how “awesome” they look during the walkouts.
-1
weoweoweo.deviantart.com -- @antontabuena
Due to the Questionable decision: "The only thing Fishbob does consistently is dissapoint."
by Anton Tabuena on Nov 16, 2009 10:54 AM EST up reply actions
I’ve noticed that the fighter with most elaborate entrance tends to lose, like they spent more time coming up with idea for entrance than training
by kanodogg on Nov 16, 2009 10:57 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I thought he fought Hector Lombard for that one.
And on that subject, can you believe that Akihiro Gono beat Hector Lombard and Gegard Mousasi in back-to-back matches? I love Gono, don’t get me wrong, but that’s pretty fascinating looking at how each of the fighters careers have gone since then.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
I think he did it for a couple fights
He also came very close to beating Dan Hardy. Makes me think that Dan Hornbuckle is for real. On the other hand, Gono is my favorite fighter, and I might just be unwilling to consider that he’s shopworn.
Yeah, because Lloyd Irvin never focuses on strategies for his fighters. Nope. Not ever.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
by Brett Jones on Nov 16, 2009 11:22 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Please.
It was hyperbole. Though I still stand by the fact the cornermen looked like dorks strutting out to the Octagon like that and they were giving Vera questionable advice. Especially the after the first round, where one of them told Vera “You got that one”.
No way, I’d like for franklins next fight to be vs couture. Loser of ortiz/griffin vs Vera would be a good matchup, give Vera one last shot at proving his legitimacy
by kanodogg on Nov 16, 2009 10:55 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Right or wrong, people who hated Vera
before have all the more ammo to hate him now. Regardless of what he may have said afterward, I don’t think he’s won over any new fans. Maybe with the weird increase in injuries he’ll get another shot at a PPV card, but otherwise it’s unfortunate that this may have been his last real opportunity.
Right...
I fail to see where Vera gained anything. The decision really wasn’t very controversial, the fight wasn’t all that entertaining, and his best win in the last 3 years remains KSos.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 16, 2009 11:48 AM EST up reply actions
I have a feeling
personal bias plays a part in fans perception of the decision from this particular fight. I was pulling for Vera, and I was fairly surprised by the decision. I was watching the fight in hopes to see the ways Vera would succeed, and was frustrated by Randy’s ineffectual clinch. I can see how someone who was hoping Vera would be embarrassed would find Randy’s strategy to be effective and thus gave the fight to him because that’s what they wanted to have happen. The needle on Vera doesn’t move.
Just to compare
I think this was different from the Machida vs. Shogun fight in that people saw something they didn’t expect and then felt denied a potentially historic result. That feeling was even worse for Shogun fans, of course.
yup, thats very insightiful
It’s through the lens of your glass, but i thought that Randy won rounds 1 and 3. Round 3 was very close but its who controls more of the round, which Randy did. And people have forgotten the knees that he landed in the first, which were the most damaging shots of either fighter, plus the takedown. I wouldn’t have been disappointed either way, but it wasn’t a robbery of any sort.
you’re right, the fights were close enough to question the result on behalf of the person you’re rooting for
by Austin Martin on Nov 16, 2009 12:52 PM EST up reply actions
hmm..
“but its who controls more of the round”
Actually, the unified rules state that it’s striking, grappling, and octagon control in that order. And I’m only talking about the third round here. I think the 1st two rounds were pretty obvious, but I gave Vera the third for winning the striking and the grappling (with his takedown to mount). I gave Randy the first for his lone takedown despite not being able to do anything with it, so I have to give the third to Vera because not only did he get the takedown, but he was able to pass to mount (despite not being able to do anything with it). Randy wins the first for the same reason Vera won the third.
by mictlantechutli on Nov 16, 2009 1:18 PM EST up reply actions
It’s time for Vera to fade away.
Keep firing Assholes!
The only thing Fishbob does consistently is dissapoint.
i don't understand why i keep seeing that, he beat Ksos
and had a razon thin decision to Couture. He needs to be more aggressive, but i would love to see him vs. Franklin or Cane.
by Austin Martin on Nov 16, 2009 12:49 PM EST up reply actions
He beat Ksos
That’s his best win since MIr 3 years ago. He doesn’t need to stop fighting, he just needs to stop headlining cards. I do not care about him.
by Neil Manich on Nov 16, 2009 12:55 PM EST up reply actions
No doubt it was a close decision, but only one guy in that fight ever came close to finishing it, and that was Vera. Randy was hurt during the initial exchange of the 1st round, again when Vera dropped him in the 2nd, and eventually gave up full mount in the 3rd. Those three instances alone were far more significant than anything Couture did throughout the entire fight. I am all for the 10-point must system, but this was one occasion where the old Pride scoring would have been far more effective in determining a true winner.
I never want to hear......
…..“You’re going to see the best Brandon Vera you have ever seen” ever ever ever again. Just show me.
I actually think that’s a fucking great idea. Why haven’t more people said this? Two tall and lanky 205ers with a greco background and contrasting styles of striking (technical vs. wtf did he just do?!). Use Vera to gatekeep for a minute while Jardine gets a win and then rematch them if Vera wins to see which gets tentatively ranked number 10 in the division!
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