UFC on FOX 4 was the matter to UFC 149's anti-matter. On a lesser card, even the Cole Miller vs. Nam Phan scrap probably wins Fight of the Night. Or perhaps Mike Swick vs. DaMarques Johnson takes it. Thankfully for fans, Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie Varner managed to be more exciting than all four. It was a brilliant night of fights. Except for Ryan Bader, who ignored the unspoken rule in joust that your face is not meant to be used as the lance, nearly everyone put on spirited, gutsy, and sometimes compelling performances.
That Mauricio Rua is on that list is not a surprise. Brandon Vera being on that list certainly is, however.
It's hard to describe Vera's career, as odd as that sounds. Yes, there's a clear pattern: Vera talks the talk of a contender, but walks the walk of a gatekeeper. But he's always only stumbled his way into relevance in his post-HW career rather than earn it.
He was "lucky" to get a fight with Randy Couture, who didn't need to go back down to LHW following his fantastic performance against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at his age. He was "lucky" to be thrust back into the spotlight when his fight with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira fell through, and he got a spot in the main event on the UFC's first Versus show. Or lucky that Thiago Silva got popped for steroids, lucky that all three judges didn't score round three 10-8 for Elliot Marshall, and so forth.
Chance has been favorable to Brandon Vera, yet Vera never seems to take them. His performances in the cage have all too often been tepid affairs. Vera either refuses to engage, or seems hesitant to. That is, until last night.
It wasn't masterful, or especially polished, but for once Vera was stringing together combinations. He landed brutal knees at times, scored excellent elbows in the exchanges, and remained calm on the ground against a Shogun determined to slice through his guard. These were obstacles lesser men would have folded to.
The chip on Vera's shoulder was evident after the fight as well. "This is for all the haters", Vera said at the press conference, holding up five fingers. "You know which finger is yours".
When one reporter asked Shogun why his cardio was suspect, and why he fatigued so early, Vera angrily interjected. "Mother I was pushing the pace man. You think he's just tired because he's out of shape and he showed up not to fight? Come on man, get off that man."
Whether you agree with his reaction or not, it was a reasonable and candid response from Vera who mustered as much offense as he could under Shogun's fire. He gave as good as he got, and Vera rightly sensed the lack of consideration implicit in the question.
It's hard to predict where Vera goes from here.
This fight meant a lot to him. Listen to him choke a little on his own tears in his post fight interview with Ariel Helwani, and you realize quickly just how much.
Much will be made of the 'moral victory' Vera scored in this fight. I don't think there's anything wistful about that statement. But Vera needs to stop talking. He needs to stop thinking about talking.
It's great that Vera has always looked up to Shogun. That's a fine and respectful thing to say. But start trying to be the guy that others look up to. Don't qualify the word 'victory' with another word that betrays its meaning. Strive for victory (period).
Perhaps those sound like harsh words. As if I'm complaining about something, or found Vera's performance unsatisfactory. Or even that I think there is no value in defeat.
I'm not, and I don't. But Vera has always been honest in his own assessment, knowing full well what his shortcomings were, and are. But he continued to feed everyone the same mantra about being reinvigorated. Vera will be rightfully praised with cliches, about 'fighting his heart out', and 'leaving everything out there'. However, Vera needs to understand that his heart and head must be aligned if he wants to rise above his current status as a certified gatekeeper.
For fighters, their argument is in the cage. They make their case with the method they use to avoid defeat. One compelling performance in defeat does not invalidate the criticism thrown Vera's way over the past several years, and he's wrong to pretend like last night was "for all the haters". But it's certainly a start, and what a start it was.
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There are many paths to freedom....not all are peaceful.
I've been pretty critical of Vera in the past, but that fight (and the whole card apart from the eye poke) was siiiiiick. It was totally fucking sweet to see Vera gobbling up Shoguns bombs and then storming right back with huge shots of his own.
Still, I hope he sees this as a missed opportunity. I believe he could have absolutely finished Shogun a couple of times in that fight. Performing the way he did would have no doubt given him a massive confidence boost give the calibre of his opponent. Here's hoping that he comes out with the same fire and aggression for his remaining fights.
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Goremire's rules for enjoyable MMA forum posting
Rule 1: REMEMBER that you cannot reason someone out of an argument they did not reason themselves into in the first place. Rule 2: Albert Einstein once wrote a foreword endorsing a book rubbishing the theory of plate tectonics. History proved him wrong. Moral of the story? REMEMBER: We all say stupid stuff sometimes! Rule 3: NEVER attempt to mediate in a flame-war between GSP and BJ Penn nuthuggers debating GSP/Penn II. It won't end well.
People are overrating Vera's performance.
Ok, he did not get finished in the 1st or 2nd round as many people predicted, and he had some few (very few actually) good moments.
But damn, he clearly lost the first 3 rounds and got finished in the 4th. What is there to brag about??
It is not that Vera is some amateur fighter with a goal of "last with Shogun as many seconds as possible before he fucking knocks me out".
He gets so proud and says "This is for all my haters, take my middle finger". Why is he so proud? Because he lasted 3 and a half rounds with a gassed Shogun and got dominated only the 80% of the fight?
I agree that he showed heart and he did a better performance than everybody expected, BUT, why he is so damn proud of his performance?
It makes me think that Vera himself could not believe that he actually survived 3 rounds and was able to land some good shots.
i don't know about "letting loose" but i do think vera had some very big mistakes that could have swung the fight in the other direction. obviously his cardio was a little suspect, but that may have been the shots he ate. but if you watch, he repeatedly jumped from doing well in the stand up into a very lazy clinch or (forgetting exactly) overhooks... i remember wishing his corner would have told him to be a little more patient and then really commit for the takedown when he jumped in.
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"If it was old school MMA I would just take @bisping down and lay on him til he died of starvation."
Another thing that surprised me is that in the second round he took Shogun down, who was already pretty tired. And then Vera literally just laid for about 25 seconds doing nothing at all!! That obviously gives some time for Shogun to recover.
Vera finally starts to throw punches when there are only 10 seconds left in the clock!
Another thing that surprised me is that in the second round he took Shogun down, who was already pretty tired. And then Vera literally just laid for about 25 seconds doing nothing at all!! That obviously gives some time for Shogun to recover.
Vera finally starts to throw punches when there are only 10 seconds left in the clock!
Just my opinion, but Vera took heavy damage early in the fight that had to take a toll on him. You mention Shogun being gassed, but the punishment Vera took didnt do his cardio any favours either. I think he was fighting on instinct for large parts of the fight itself, and probably needed the rest while he was on top of Shogun to get his faculties back. Having said that, you are right: dropping ground and pound was needed at that point. I'm just not sure Vera was capable of doing it at that point.
I also agree that he got dominated at times, but I wouldnt say it was 80% of the fight. And this experience should have taught him that he's capable of hanging with the elite of the division and that gallant defeat is still defeat. Thats why I enjoyed the fight so much: it's rare that you get to see a fighter go through that process of rediscovering themselves live (and free!)
I'm most impressed that Vera didn't wilt, didn't look for a way out, and looked his best immediately after Shogun cracked him with shots that would have put lesser fighters out. On the night, he wasn't quite good enough to get the W. But I guarantee you that the odds would have shortened big time if they ever rematch.
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Goremire's rules for enjoyable MMA forum posting
Rule 1: REMEMBER that you cannot reason someone out of an argument they did not reason themselves into in the first place. Rule 2: Albert Einstein once wrote a foreword endorsing a book rubbishing the theory of plate tectonics. History proved him wrong. Moral of the story? REMEMBER: We all say stupid stuff sometimes! Rule 3: NEVER attempt to mediate in a flame-war between GSP and BJ Penn nuthuggers debating GSP/Penn II. It won't end well.
Its easy to analyze a fight and talk about what people would have or should have done but at the end of the day a fight is a fight. He brought it to Shogun and Shogun brought it back and came out victorious.
For me I learned three things from this fight and this is just my opinion.
- Vera has the potential to be everything he said he could be.
- Vera is capable of beating just about anyone at lhw if his focus and confidence is there
- Shogun hasn't changed and isn't ready for a rematch against Jones. He would likely get gassed and get dominated yet again.
Keep your head up Vera you did a lot better than people gave you credit for so that is certainly a moral victory. Challenge Thiago next and redeem your lost to him and get back on track.
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Anderson Silva:
Best Fighter on the planet.
Shogun's always been a sloppy boxer, while Vera is crisp, so Vera was able to land a lot of punches. Still, Shogun's faster, more power, and a better chin, so he was just too much for Vera. Fight wasn't that surprising for me, but it was a good fight.
Brandon Vera's Performance Against Mauricio Rua Proves He Finally 'Gets It' 
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