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[TBEAR]

Source Vera Ready to go Retro on Jon Jones

In the summer of 2003, Brandon Vera was standing in a supermarket checkout line and picked up the latest issue of Muscle and Fitness magazine to browse through it while he waited. The cover featured a lean, mean looking badass named Frank Mir, who at the time was touted by many as being “the next big thing” in the UFC. Accompanying the photo was the caption: Frank Mir: World’s Toughest Man? One look at the fighter and the hype-filled headline and Vera, who had just one fight under his own belt at the time told himself “Some day, I’m going to be that guy”.

Three years later, Vera came full circle as he stared across the cage at the man who had stared back at him from that magazine cover. The surreality of the moment began to sink in: He was going to fight a former UFC champion who was once considered the best prospect in the sport.

Pushing the nerves and self-doubt aside, Vera took Mir out in just 69 seconds, stealing his thunder and solidifying himself as the hot new Octagon prospect.

Fast forward nearly three-and-a-half years and Vera finds himself on the opposite side of the cage he was on when he fought Mir. This time around he’s the respected veteran looking to re-ignite his once blazing career with a win over an opponent many, who not long ago referred to Vera in the same vein, are calling “the next big thing” – Jon “Bones” Jones.

Unfortunately for Jones, Vera isn’t ready to pass the torch just yet and says he plans to bring fireworks when they meet in the main event March 20 in Broomfield, CO at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones.

The question is, what has he done to prepare for and to beat such a dangerous, unorthodox and explosive young opponent like Jones, whom no other fighter has been able to stop?

“We've been studying for a while, and his biggest weakness is his inexperience. That's the only X factor in this game. Everything else, he's almost like a seasoned vet, so we're going to try to look for holes and exploit them. His game is tight. His striking is good. His defense is good. His footwork's good. I can’t prepare for his spinning elbows or his spinning kicks and stuff like that. There’s just no way,” Vera says. “The same goes for him training and preparing to fight me. Nobody kicks as hard as I do. Nobody kicks with the malicious intent that I do and he hasn’t gone against anybody whose Thai clinch is as good as mine. We’re both going to have to find out a lot about each other that night.”

Thankfully, and perhaps as an assurance that he is taking his preparations for Jones more seriously than he has for any other opponent, Vera steers clear of the oft repeated, “I’ve completely reinvented myself as a fighter,” or “You’re going to see the best version of Brandon Vera you’ve ever seen in this fight,” clichés that most fighters at a crossroads in their career regurgitate. History has shown that these “reinvented” and so-called “best” incarnations of fighters usually aren’t any better than the former versions they replace.

Instead, Vera thoughtfully explains that, rather than reinventing the wheel training-wise and coming up with a new hit-or-miss formula that may or may not prove successful, he has gone back to the training methods and headspace that made him the hot young prospect he was back when he beat Mir.

“I stopped believing in the hype. I stopped worrying about what people think. I'm going back in to just trying to hurt people again like I used to; I used to go into my fights with the mindset that I just want to hurt my opponents badly. When I first came out, I would just bang on people and roll people just to see them break. I got away from that somehow. I don't know what happened; I don’t know if I got sucked into the MMA world of trying to not disappoint people. I'm over it. I just want to go ahead and go back in there and start doing things like I used to,” Vera explains. “I’m back to wanting to hurt people again. I want my opponents to know what fighting me is all about. When you get in the Octagon with me, you’re going to remember it and you aren’t going to want to do it again. That’s where I was when I first started fighting and that’s where I’m at again. I started listening to all of the old songs that I used to listen to when I first started training and it brought back that feeling even more. I made a soundtrack for this camp and it reignited my ferocity. I’m going to be ruthless and I’m not going to be overcautious any more.”

The tipping point that forced Vera to take a step back and reassess how he approached his fights was the razor close decision loss he dropped against former UFC light heavyweight champ Randy Couture in his last outing. Though he still believes that he won the fight, Vera says he learned a lot in the 15 minutes in the cage with the UFC Hall of Famer.

“I still feel that I won that fight. I just take that with me and use it everyday in training. I got to beat my legend – my hero; I don't think there's anybody else who can beat me now. That’s my new mantra. I’ve never been pushed so hard in a fight and I’ve never had to fight so hard. Randy is like a machine that never gets tired. I think the only time I’ve ever seen him tired in a fight was when he punched himself out in the first round against Ricco Rodriguez and he ended up losing that fight. Other than that, I’ve never seen him get tired in a fight,” Vera recalls. “I remember coming out in the third round against Randy, I was smiling and licking my lips because it felt so good that I was taking it to him. I was hitting him and doing what I needed to do and it felt good. I carried that feeling forward and I’m trying to keep that feeling up.”

And keep it up he has. You can sense the enjoyment when Vera speaks of his pending fight and even of the tortuous training sessions he has endured to prepare for it.

“Fighting is supposed to be about having a good time. That’s why I got into this sport. You’re supposed to love being a fighter and I lost that for a while, but now I love everything about it again. Except for sprints. Nobody loves doing that, because you can’t win or be the best at running sprints. You’re just racing the clock. But I still even embrace that as part of training,” he says with a laugh – something that has become commonplace, accompanied by his omnipresent smile. “I’m having fun with it again. I used to dread having to train. Now, I’m the first guy out the door waiting in the car and I’m yelling at the guys, ‘Let’s go train. It’s time to play.’”

Another throwback to his early days as a fighter Vera says has been his rededication to his Brazilian jiu-jitsu base. Having trained in the art long before he learned the Thai clinch or how to throw a proper elbow from Muay Thai coach Rob Kaman, Vera, who holds a brown belt under Lloyd Irvin, explains that the reason he only has one submission win isn’t because he isn’t comfortable on the ground; it’s because his penchant for knocking his opponents made him believe that he was just a striker.

“For some reason – I don't know when or where it started – I started worrying about defending the takedown so much. I don't know. I started becoming a standup fighter. Everybody wanted to see me bang, so I just started defending takedowns all the time. My standup has suffered because of it. Instead of throwing – instead of committing all my combinations or committing all my punches and kicks, I'm holding back. I’m thinking ‘Maybe this guy's going to shoot,’ or ‘Maybe this might happen,’ and I forgot that I am a brown belt under Lloyd Irvin. I was doing jiu-jitsu before I started fighting; I love being on the ground,” Vera says. “I'm better on my back than I am on top of you. I submit people all day now that I'm training and I started getting back to my jiu-jitsu roots. So if somebody takes me to the ground, you could end up seeing somebody get submitted. I'm back on my jiu-jitsu game, along with my Muay Thai game, and I'm not concentrating so much on defending the takedown anymore. You just might see a submission if Jones takes me down.”

Although Jones maintains in every interview that his lack of experience will not give his 32-year-old opponent any advantage, Vera disagrees and says he’ll know when he looks into the eyes of the 22-year-old during the final stare down if he’s prepared mentally for what’s to come after they touch gloves.

“I remember being where he’s at. I remember what I was thinking about what could go wrong. I remember. He says it doesn’t matter that I have the experience edge on him. We’ll see. I know what to look for. I remember when I was still young into the game, there were things I was doing that I didn't like and there were still things that I needed to work on that come with experience. He doesn’t seem to think he has any flaws and he doesn’t think that experience matters much,” he says with another chuckle. “Everybody has flaws and everybody has weaknesses. You just need to figure them out and exploit them. He's actually a lot further along in his mental game than I was when I was in his position, but if he believes what people are saying about him – that he’s the second coming of Jesus Christ, then he’s going to have a long way to fall back down to earth when I knock him out. We’ll see if he’s ready for ‘The Truth.’”

This should be a great fight

[rodneykm]

I hope Jones beats the ever lovin' shit out of Vera.

[TBEAR]

^^should be a good fight but I pick Jones

[Xanatos]

^^samsies

[b0sH]

I'm picking Vera as long as he turns up hungy and in the right frame of mind.

He's been on the bad end of a few really poor ref'ing decisions as well as a good dose of bad luck in his last few fights, maybe this will turn things his way.

[TheKidInside]

I still see Vera with all the potential in the world. He got absolutely screwed against Werdu, didn't really show up for that Jardine fight, and I will fight tooth and nail in the belief that he beat Couture. If he loses to Jones I think it's over for him and I will jump on the Jones wagon...but not yet

[kingrobert]

I have always liked Vera. He is a guy with all the potential in the world who just doesnt seem to put it together. Everytime I watch him fight I keep thinking he will do better then he does. Im not sure what his problem is. Maybe he's not mentally strong or maybe he needs to train somewhere different. Win loose or draw hopefully he lets his hands and kicks go in this fight.

I do think he will win this fight. Vera has fought some very tough fighters and has been tested. I dont feel that Jones has been tested yet. Jones tends to fade in the 3rd round 2. I think Vera gets a TKO in the 3rd.

[rivethead]

Originally Posted by b0sH

I'm picking Vera as long as he turns up hungy and in the right frame of mind.

He's been on the bad end of a few really poor ref'ing decisions as well as a good dose of bad luck in his last few fights, maybe this will turn things his way.

I think people complained about the Werdum stoppage...but there is no way he was getting out from under full mount, soft punches or not. That fight was lost the minute Fabricio passed guard.

rh

[Xtremo]

He's actually a lot further along in his mental game than I was when I was in his position, but if he believes what people are saying about him – that he’s the second coming of Jesus Christ, then he’s going to have a long way to fall back down to earth when I knock him out. We’ll see if he’s ready for ‘The Truth.’”

That was some beutiful poetry....other than that...Jones by 1sr round KO

[Jaydo06]

I'm still supporting Vera win or lose

I like both guys though, Jones is a beast.