“The Truth” accepted fights to take on Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19; however, he and his camp felt he needed more time to prepare for the “nasty” style of the undefeated Machida. He looks forward to a future fight with the “Dragon,” bur for now he’ll take on UFC newcomer Reese Andy at light heavyweight:
June 26th, 2008
99 Comments »
can’t blame him. Machida on short notice is not a good idea.
Agreed.
FACT!
brandon vera will run thruogh most the lhw division.
easy wins for brandon are-
jardine-forrest-soko-thiago-irvin-rashad-lambert-houston-gouevia-mendes-bonner and reljic.
hard but winable fight-
liddell-wand-shogun-hendo-luis cane-
and the fights he should wait and build up to
because right now these guys would beat him-are
anderson silva-lyoto machida-and of course
rampage jackson.
~Stinky~Fingers~: What kind of drugs are you smoking? “easy wins”??? Not likely.
who would be a hard fight for vera at lhw- off my easy list?
well you assume just because you can drop down wait you can beat anyone in that division…there is alot more involved than size advantage…griffin is just as big if not bigger than vera….griffin started out his career at heavyweight…a small heavyweight…like vera. same with soko..thiago irvin and rashad all these men h ave competed in hevayweight before. not only that but style counts as well. vera isnt that greta of a grappler…guys like soko griffin and thiago are. jardine…he just has a very weird style. get thru that and youll be fine.
vera has alot of upside, i’ll say that much, but hes gonna have to earn it. i think forrest and thiago are not easy. i am biased towards forrest, but vera is gonna lose some of the speed advantage that he held over the hw’s and the skill level is higher at lhw than hw imo. i could see vera as the lhw champ though sooner than the hw champ.
Agreed B.W., thats the only reason Vera was even staying at HW. Competition was easier and the speed was slower. IMO Vera loses this fight and its not because I don’t think he’s good but to say you need less time to train against Hendo and Wandi and more to train against Machida is ridiculous. Machida is a counter striker, he doesn’t have a very aggressive style and doesn’t have KO power. The guy is trying to jump the ladder in the LHW division and he doesn’t deserve it. He’s lost his last two fights and is now fighting a relative Unknown. I just keep losing respect for the guy which is lame cause I know he has the skills.
I agree with you, I am very suprised that he would think that Wandy would be an easier fight that Lyoto. The only reason that I can see that people are dodging Lyoto is that they do not want to lose a boring fight that goes to a decision, and that is very possible in a fight with Lyoto. As far as actually being hurt or losing via KO, a fight with Wandy or Dan is 10 times more dangerous than Lyoto.
I agree naturalshadow - Lyoto definitely has a different style, but Wandy & Hendo are top of the food chaing in my opinion.
Would you rather lose to an elusive fighter like Machida are get KTFO by Dan &/or Wandy.
I’m not saying Vera would def lose any of them, but that’s the risk assessment he should consider.
Stinky Fingers can I just get a quick list on notable fighters that weren’t fat out of shape and first fight back after a car wreck that Vera has beaten? I am not too familiar with his work other then his victories over absolut nobody cans (which he did in impressive fashion mind you). Just want to see if you can construct why he would beat a fairly talented pool of fighters who hold victories over top five fighters easily.
man you cant say thiago silva would be easy for vera! he has similar bjj great ground and pound and what it take to hang for a while on the feet! as for forest being easy well thats dumb he hasnt been easy for anybody! vera was the most overhyped fight the ufc ever had! we,ve see that in his last two fights! he couldnt box with big tim and couldnt clinch! man none of those fights would be easy! yes he would be the favourate in most of em but none of em would be easy
I can’t blame Vera for not taking the fight. Machida is not an easy guy to prepare for and would need more then a month to get ready for the fight.
I think everyone is going a bit far with this Machida hype. He has not been that impressive, he beat an inexperienced Soko and an aging one trick pony in Tito.
Yeah yeah i know he KO’d rich but still.
Can’t watch the video at work but for Vera to say he would have fought Wand or Hendo no probs but ohhh nooo to big bad Machida.
Did he not see the Silva Jardine fight????
Plus Machida was a nats cock away from being choked out by Tito.
Vera has good enough striking and reach to stand with Machida so i think he should have taken the fight.
Machida will get caught (in more ways than one) soon.
I want to throw this out there, i rate Thiago as highly as Machida but he rarly gets mentioned and has a very similar record with all finishes.
I bet Thiago wouldn’t duck a fight with Machida.
I tend to believe Machida is very skilled, but also agree that Thiago would have more than likely taken the fight. But Thiago is undefeated, were Vera is coming off of two losses. I could see were Vera would be a little less confidant in himself.
Honestly, I dont see THiago turning down many fights! He is a bad dude, willing to throw down with anyone/anytime, thats Why I am a big fan of the rising Chute Box star!
I can see where you’re coming from Nick J, but the thing is Machida’s style is so much different than everyone else Vera has fought. He would need to bring in a top caliber Shotokan Karate fighter to train with for this. Machida isn’t unbeatable by any means, but his unorthodox style will need a lot of preparation for anyone who plans on beating him
If Machida was prepared to go for July 19th they should pair him up with Thiago. I would imagine Thiago would take that fight. That can sort out the next title shot…Oh no wait Chuck. It’s such bs, those two are more deserving.
I can’t honestly say that Machida is more deserving than Chuck for a title shot. He has not fought any real title contenders, and the best he fought at lhw was Tito. Not to mention, as “elusive” as Machida is, he can’t run from Rampage for 5 rounds.
But he can decision him for a win.
Vera vs Wandy or Henderson would have changed my view on what I’m watching on July 19th.
I would switch back and forth and tune into at least the Wanderlei vs Vera fight. Wanderlei is my favorite fighter, and I would never miss him in action, especially against a good fighter in vera
Agreed again… he needs to be ready for Machida and the move to LHW.
everyone should be jumping at the chance at fighting an undefeated guy like lyoto. It would have only taken him that much closer to the top if he would have pulled off a win against lyoto. Even if he would have lost, it wouldnt have discredited him to much being that lyoto hasnt being been beaten by anyone in the ufc yet. hey, it worked for crybaby forrest.
Machida woulda been in the same boat, I think he shoulda took it
Thats why I’m saying its a lame excuse. Machida would have the same amount of time to train for him. I’m really struggling to stay a fan. IMO Wandy would have been a worse matchup, Wandy could knock him out. Machida on the other hand, doesnt have KO power. So its just about catching Machida.
Agreed. It’s a shame for me, since I like both Vera and Machida and thought they would have made an interesting match-up.
Maybe he didn’t have the cardio to catch Machida ^^;
I don’t think anyone wants to fight Machida, he’s a guy who won’t engage and he’s a difficult fighter.
So if you lose, you lose and get booed the whole time.
He definately should have taken the fight, simply because he is a fighter being given an opportunity to take a huge cut in line as far as ranking. However that said, i definately understand his hesitancy with regard to Lyoto, imo he is a far worse match-up for vera than wandy or hendo. It all comes down to style, wandy is a great muay thai striker but so is vera, i would give the edge in power to wandy but skill to vera, vera also has a longer reach and throws better straight punches than wandy. so i think it’s just a matter of vera being more comfortable with what he knows. with hendo, sure he’s an awesome grappler but he has a tendency to go toe to toe when he shouldn’t, i think vera is looking at the fact that he is the larger man so that offsets a little of hedo’s grappling advantage, and on paper vera is the better striker. so again i think it comes down to him being in familiar territory. with machida vera’s striking would be nullified by his elusive defense and counter-attacks and while vera has a decent bjj game machida is a black belt. so to me his logic makes sense, that said i think any one of these three would completely smash his face.
His loss, this was the dumbest thing that Vera could have passed up on. Seriously if he losses to Andy he’ll probably be up on the chopping block, a good chance he’ll be let go but maybe he’d just get moved back up to UFC but point is its a big loss when you face a guy that nobody knows in comparisson to losing to a guy who is undefeated and a number 1 contender. Next point is he doesn’t really gain much from beating Andy either. He has 2 losses coming into this fight and he’s beaten a guy who is at the bottom of the food change, big deal. He would have been thrown against top competition if he had defeated Machida. And my last and most important point would be to pull a Matt Hughes. Honestly Hughes does it for the fans, he could have waited for Serra to heal and faced him for the title but he asked for GSP instead, he even saved the recent Bedlam card. He did this for the fans and even though he lost almost everyone gained more respect for him. Vera could have helped his fan base explode by taking any 3 of these guys and even if he lost, I would have back him saying this guy has guts.
nah not comin off 2 loses
Well it’s risky but c’mon, no one in mma goes undefeated forever, he’s gotta be due for a loss some time in the near future and whoever hands it to him is gonna be right in line for a title shot. (assuming machida doesn’t have the title at the time) Vera shoulda rolled the dice and went for it!
Agree, its a big risk but a huge reward. If he would beat Machida he vaults himself way up the LHW ladder after only one fight. And Andy is no bum, it would be much worse for him to lose to Andy then to Machida.
Haze, thats the best way to put it (Big Risk) with (Huge Reward) Even if Vera beats Andy what does that do? So look at it from Andys point, if Andy beats Vera Andy is on the map right away. Vera beating Machida would have erased his two losses and put him in position for a title shot sooner than later. So why turn down the fight?
Brandon Vera at LHW is something I want to see. between his contract issues that side lined him and the decision loss to at the time “biggest” HH in the UFC. I viewed him as threat amongst the HH bigdogs. But “the truth”..should really be fighting at LHW..and he called out the Iceman..before Chuck lost to Page. He creates alot of good match ups in the LHW division.
Vera vs Thiago Silva
Vera vs Lidell
Vera vs Wandi
Vera vs Machida
jsut to name a few..
Phil: I agree! IMO the most appealing match up is Vera vs. thiago Silva…That would be Nasty
Nobody wnats it with Machida! THats a bad man! I dont think training to fight Machida is as hard as fighters make it out to be. When you are training to face a wrestler, you practice with Wrestlers. When u r fighting a jits guy, u train with jist guys.
If you want to fight machida, you need 2 kinds of sparring partners:
1: Top of the line jist guys, cause his Jist is amazing
2: U need to train with Karate (point scoring) fighters
Easier said then done, but top fihgters need to step up and chaLLENGE THE DRAGON! No one wants it with him!
has anyone ever got close enough to test his chin?
BJ got a few good shots in a him.
John, go and have a look at the affliction thread. I’ve posted the link in my name. You said you wanted to see it lol
Also look at my response to you in the Baroni thread. WAR BARONI !!
auto, you are my new favorite poster!! ANYONE who didn’t watch the video this guy put up has to watch it. That wa the BEST video I’ve ever seen. Thanks buddy, not only am I laughing, I now find myself feeling a bit gay!
LMAO
Thanks Kevin, I knew you would warm to me eventually
WTF is that video about!!! My girlfriend just caught me watchin it, now i’m desperately trying to explain that some dude on some forum said I should watch it.
But it was funny as fook.
I am actually afraid to watch it now!
Autonmation: u r a sick dude! good stuff! I am histerical, yet freake dout!
Vera style doesn’t match up well with Machida’s I think it would be a boring points battle with Machida winning by split decision.
Add Kalib Starnes to the list of sparring partners to train for machida, if they can catch him they can def catch machida
LOL
Not funny!!! Machida doesnt know the meaning of run.
Ya it’s way easier said than done. You need to find a guy that is as elusive and can avoid almost all damage as Machida. Not going to happen, he is one of a kind. If you can’t hurt him, he will win by decision.
vera vs anderson at lhw
Vera vs Thiago Silva would be very interesting. I think Vera’s size could give Thiago some problems. I’m not to sure his GnP would be as affective against Brandon Vera.
still waiting for news of the day!!
sergei vs big foot come july 26, just crazy!
I saw that too, even the mexicutioner would have a hard time not tuning in for that fight. Should be a good one!
I think the mexicutioner will be sold on this one, that’s just a good fight no way around it.
im sold. this i the card that should have shown first, but thats beating a dead horse. getting rid of shaw and showcasing your best talent is always the best way to go. elite might stll stand a chance to do well if cbs takes over and they keep putting on cards like this. sergei k. and bigfoot is the bomb
Glad to see Sergei getting some nice attention. The guy just needs to fight more to get back in the top 10 imo (and stay injury free).
Vera needs time to incorporate live-chicken-catching into his training. tough to find a chicken as quick as Machida.
LMAO!!!!
He’s going to have nightmares about that last fight for a long time…
off topic.
http://www.mmatko.com/the-shortest-mma-fight/
thats the funnest thing iv ever seen!!!!
Y does that bald headed one look like a mini-FranK trigg???
It looked like Mini Gsp vs. Mini Amir Sadollah!
LOL!! nice find! check out the cage size!
wow, that is hilarious. best clip ive seen in a long time!!!!
that was Priceless! Dwarf mma fighters in a mim cage thats too much. I just watched it while sitting in my statistics class, I couldnt help myself I started laughing out load, you guys got me in trouble! lol
Good stuff!
No sh!t….was that a converted bird cage or something!?
i loved the look on his face ‘why would i be disapointed?’ thats a bonus for someone like Vera better fights!!
Shame Dan wasn’t ready to fight. That would have been a really interesting match-up.
wait for pallhares 88 bro
cant fight the dragon but a good time to fight a new comer wtf that soung kind of weak to to me hes a hw and he drooped becuase he found out he cant hang with the big bios any more
really? i always saw him as someone that fought at HW because of the crowded LHW division. he is grossly undersized to be a HW and i think he has the potential to break top5 at LHW. besides after any weight change everyone fights a dreg and daddies them, its purely for publicity and cofidence
thats true! He stands at 6′ 4″ thats a big lhw frameBUT SMALL FORHW
I can’t wait to see him in this division. I just see this as a great addition to the LHW division. I want to see him fight Machida for sure.
that was the funniest video ever. looks like there
fighting on a Poker table haha. fleaweight lol priceless
What the hell is that “Rage in the Bird Cage”?
Training for Machida would be easy. Just do like Rocky and go chase a chicken. If you can catch it you are ready for the running Machida!!
v.good
I almost like Vera, but I can’t help but notice there’s a yellow streak lurking somewhere under his hype!
“The Dragon” Machida’ Nickname.
Is Lyoto Machida “The Dragon” because he looks just like Don “The Dragon” Wilson.
If that’s the case, I think it’s a perfect nickname.
Vera will be a HUGE 205LB
exactly the only thing guys need to do.. that no one has done yet is to be physical and in machida’s face you can see that he doesn’t like that and he starts gassing… when Tito got mad and did that in the 3rd round he had him if that fight would have gone more than 3 rounds im sure Tito would have finished him, but he should have done that from the start instead of standing at a boxing distance and wait
time will tell ! win or lose vera is a stand up guy ! a good embassador 4 the sport !
Hope Reese knocks him out for Vera implying Reese does not require any additional time to train for.
He is just ducking Machida like any other “contender” does, because they want an easy win and the win bonus.
Sorry dude, but you think he’s looking for an easy fight when he agrees to fight Wandy or Hendo??
I just think he’s saying Machida’s style is completely unique, so it takes some time to prepare. I don’t think he’s knocking Reese, Wandy or Hendo.
He agreed to fight Wandy or Hendo?
Then why is he fighting Reese?
It is just a cover for him ducking Machida, he wanted an easy fight, he’s coming off two losses, he wants a win bonus.
IF someone said “You can fight this new guy from IFL, or Machida.” who would you pick?
Get honest here, this is money oriented decision making and if I was Vera i’d do the same thing.
Because Wandy & Hendo turned down the fights. Not because they’re afraid of Vera….probably because they’re not in shape to fight. These guys take sh!t seriously, they’re not going to risk losing to Vera just so Dana can throw a quick card together to compete with Affliction.
Trust me, if Wandy & Hendo didn’t turn down the fights, we’ll all be reading about it on this site by tomorrow. They would never let Vera say that publicly if it wasn’t true.
“He agreed to fight Wandy or Hendo?
Then why is he fighting Reese?”
dammit, man. didn’t you watch the vid? Wand and Hendo were out of shape to fight.
I think machida is good fighter and everything, but hes just not that interesting to watch. That fight with ortiz shoulda been a war (of course lyoto took the smart gameplan) but he made it boring. And i hate paying money to watch that kinda match.
I don’t blame them. Losing just isn’t an option for them.
people give brandon shit for wanting more time to train for machida, but isnt that what wandy and hedo said about fighting vera?
Vera did pass up a huge opportunity in fighting Machida. I do, however, think that Machida would have won. Machida is still developing as a fighter and is not a finished product. Once he begins to capitalize more after making opponents miss he will be much more dangerous. One thing that I’ve notice about Machida is that he tends to dive directly into an opponents guard after he scores a knockdown. If Machida would spend the extra fraction of a second to establish side control instead I think he would have a few more finishes on his record.
Going by these posts, a lot of people are in for a rude awakening when Vera TEARS through the LHW division. He’s going to be BIG at LHW and he will only get faster when he loses that 20lbs of fat he is carrying around. Ya he lost his last 2 fights, but that was more to do with bad luck than lack of skill. He broke his hand and the fight was called before he was even CLOSE to done. Two of the biggest and most dangerous HW’s didn’t leave a mark on him, where as most of the LHW division wouldn’t last 2 minutes with the likes of Sylvia or Werdum. Mark my words. Vera WILL be a wrecking machine at 205.
Not too many intelligent comments here. I really can’t see what is wrong with Vera needing more prep time for Machida. The guy has a style like no other fighter. Vera will have rolled and sparred with guys with styles like Hendo and Silva many times hence not needing as much focussed training on the specific style. Machida on the other hand would need some seriously focussed training which could not happen in 4 weeks along with his first weight cut to 205 and conditioning.
I suggest you watch the video and listen those of you simply commenting. He said he would love to fight Machida and I am sure he means it. He’s not ducking anybody.
dude the shirt! wrong spelling!