Next weekend at UFC 137, light heavyweight Brandon Vera will step into the octagon for the first time since early January to face Elliot Marshall.
The last time Vera fought, he lost a unanimous decision to contender Thiago Silva and was handed his walking papers from the UFC.
However, after the fight, it was revealed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that Silva’s drug tests had come back positive for steroids. At first denying it, Silva would later come clean and admitted to using a urine adulterant following the fight.
Silva had injured his back prior to the fight, and because he had been out of action for so long, decided to take injections into his back so that he could still fight.
Because of his actions, the fight was ruled a no contest, Silva was suspended for a year and Vera was brought back into the organization and given a second chance.
Vera, who was dominated in the fight and suffered a broken nose, was not shy when it came to talking about Silva’s antics in the cage as he taunted while holding Vera down on the ground.
“I think he was just celebrating, but now that I know that he was a juice monkey, for sure, I think he’s a piece of sh**,” he said.
Vera went on to say that he was shocked at how Silva dominated him on the ground, and now that it was revealed that he had cheated, it all makes sense,
“The whole fight I just kept asking myself, ‘What the hell is going on? Why is this?’ You know,” Vera said. “I train with Phil Davis, ‘Hapa’ Travis Browne, the Nogueira brothers and Junior dos Santos. I train with some big dudes, man.
“Nobody has ever been able to hold me. The whole time during the fight, while we’re on the ground, I’m just thinking to myself, ‘What is going? Why is it like this?’ And it just wore on me the whole time.
“…as soon as we hit the deck, it just felt like I was a little child.”
Neither Vera or Silva have tried to contact each other after the fight and “The Truth” has no plans of it.
“Not till I smack him in his face again,” he said.
Vera will get another chance to prove that he deserves to stay in the UFC, and if he can get by Marshall, a rematch between the two may be in order.
Silva’s suspsension began on January 1 of this year and he will be able to reapply for his license at the beginning of next year.
If Vera is still around, he will be waiting for the Brazilian to return.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com