Brandon Vera
UFC light heavyweight Brandon ‘The Truth’ Vera (12-5, 1NC) has seen some highs and lows over the past year-and-a-half, seeing himself cut from the top promotion to headlining the upcoming UFC on FOX 4 event against former UFC and Pride champion, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.
Vera had been scheduled to face fellow light heavyweight James Te-Huna at next months UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman event in San Jose.
An injury to Vera’s nemesis Thiago Silva, who had been set to meet Rua at UFC 149 in Calgary, as well as injuries to Brian Stann and Michael Bisping, helped to reshuffle several event cards leading to a headlining bout between Vera and Rua for the upcoming FOX show.
Speaking on “The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo” podcast Vera talked about being offered the match with ‘Shogun’ and it’s meaning to him.
“I don’t have anything to lose anything anymore,” he said. “I’ve reached the bottom. There’s nothing else to lose. This is the fight I’ve always dreamt about. Besides Randy, he’s the guy I’ve always wanted to fight.
“This for sure is going to be one of the fights that defines me as a person and as a fighter. This will be one of my greatest performances ever. I’ve never felt this good or alive in a really long time, since the fight with Randy (at UFC 105).”
“All I said was, ‘F*** yeah, let’s do this,’” he said of his conversation with his manager. “I felt like I hit the lottery. Like f***, I’ve never had an opportunity like this in my life. This is big. This is huge.”
And while most fans on social media have been quick to call this a squash match, Vera is confident he’ll prove them all wrong by coming out on top of what has the potential to be a five-round muay Thai war between two of the best strikers at 205 pounds.
“I’m super excited to be standing with Shogun. I’m super excited to see what happens,” he said. “Brandon Vera’s back. I’m going to make myself relevant to the MMA world again in one evening, in one fight.”
UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera (aka UFC on FOX 4) is expected to take place on August 4, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The bout between Rua and Vera will air on FOX television and include a currently, eleven bout card for the LA show.