MMANews.com's own Chris Howie recently caught up with UFC Heavyweight sensation Brandon "The Truth" Vera for an in-depth interview. As usual when we talk to Vera, he was very open and honest and spent a great deal of time with us to talk about all the subjects that fans sent-in emails and forum posts requesting. Below is a complete transcript of the interview which was conducted on Friday, July 6, 2007.

BRANDON VERA INTERVIEW

Chris Howie of MMANews.com: This is Chris Howie with MMANews.com and today I'm speaking with our buddy Brandon "The Truth" Vera. How are you doing today man?

Brandon Vera: Good, no complaints. I'm here in Toronto, Canada enjoying the weather and enjoying Canada. I think this is my first time in Toronto. It's beautiful up here.

MMANews.com: Is this your first time in Canada?

Brandon Vera: It's my first time to Toronto.

MMANews.com: I'm a Canadian boy myself.

Brandon Vera: Oh really where are you at?

MMANews.com: East coast in Nova Scotia.

Brandon Vera: Nova Scotia, cool.

MMANews.com: Alright Brandon, you have to be one of the most requested fighters for an interview. People are always asking me to find out what is going on with Brandon Vera.

Brandon Vera: [laughs] I want to know what's going on with Brandon Vera.

MMANews.com: Well, let's find out! [laughs] The last time we seen you in the cage was at UFC 65 back in November. What have you been up to since then?

Brandon Vera: Since UFC 65 I've been traveling the world [and] training. Training with my coach Lloyd Irvin and Rob Kamen, opening my own school - Alliance Training Center. We are going to be the only school that has Kamen 101, it's a program Rob Kamen developed over the years. I've been paying a lot of legal stuff to my lawyers while trying to get rid of my manager and I contacted the CSAC [California State Athletic Commission] almost every day to get arbitration set up so I can get rid of this guy.

MMANews.com: What exactly went on with him?

Brandon Vera: I can't really say too much because I don't want to mess up anything with my case. I don't really know what I can and can not say. One thing I can say is that something was told to him that was never told to me. Arbitration will be at the end of this month, in July, we should have a decision one way or the other and then I'll go ahead and tell the whole world what happened word for word.

MMANews.com: There were rumors going around that you could have had Randy Couture's spot at UFC 68 against Tim Sylvia for the title. Is there any truth to that?

Brandon Vera: Yes, the fight was offered to me. I did hear about the fight.

MMANews.com: Any particular reason you didn't take the fight or does that have to do with your manager situation?

Brandon Vera: Yeah, I'll have to go along with the whole manager situation. What I heard was that it wasn't worth it for me to take the fight.

MMANews.com: It wasn't worth it?

Brandon Vera: Yeah, from what I heard from my manager.

MMANews.com: I guess I can understand why you're having problems with him then.

Brandon Vera: Yeah man, exactly. It was things that weren't relayed to me.

MMANews.com: Who are you training with right now?

Brandon Vera: I've been training with a lot of people. I went to Thailand for my wifes TV show called 'Fight Girls' so I was there and trained with a lot of different people. I've been training with Rob Kamen and Lloyd Irvin and I think I'm going to be going to Big Bear to train with Rampage [Jackson] soon, once he starts getting ready for his fight. I was training with Scott Smith for a while. I was training with a whole bunch of different people, floating around and getting a different feel and seeing a lot of different flavors.

MMANews.com: That can't hurt your game any.

Brandon Vera: No, no. I've been working on my elbows a lot too. A lot.

MMANews.com: Anything else you've been working on specifically?

Brandon Vera: My ground work a lot. Timing is my biggest issue. It's not punching harder or kicking harder or anything like that. With experience you start to get more comfortable in the ring and you are able to pull off things that you normally just do on the pads, so that's what I have been working on a lot, my timing both on the ground and on my feet.

MMANews.com: Now are you still under contract with the UFC?

Brandon Vera: Yeah, I'm still with the UFC. I signed an extension with them so I do have at least one more fight left for them. They are not going to use that until the arbitration is done with Mark Dion and I get rid of him as a manager.

MMANews.com: Now since the last time we seen you fight a lot has been happening. What are your thoughts on the former PRIDE fighters coming into the UFC?

Brandon Vera: Oh man, it gives the fans a lot more options, it gives the fighters a lot more options - it's going to be beautiful. You're going to see all the best fighters in the world compete against each other. I'm excited, I'm really excited.

MMANews.com: Who are you looking forward to getting in the octagon with?

Brandon Vera: I want to know where [Mauricio] Shogun [Rua] is at. I'd like to fight with Shogun, I'd like to fight with [Mirko] CroCop, I'd like to fight with... the list goes on and on. It's ridiculous right now where everybody is at. I don't really know where everyone is at. I know for sure that [Antonio Rodrigo] Nogueira is here. There are a lot of rumors about Fedor [Emelianenko] coming in and I'm excited about that too.

MMANews.com: There is something different with Fedor everyday.

Brandon Vera: Yeah, nobody knows.

MMANews.com: With the mention of Shogun, what are your plans when it comes to which weight class you will fight at?

Brandon Vera: I'll be fighting at heavyweight first. I don't plan on cutting down to 205 lbs. anytime soon. I like eating. I'm actually eating right now while we're doing this interview [laughs].

MMAnews.com: What are you up to in Toronto this weekend?

Brandon Vera: The Fight Network brought us in to do some promotional stuff. It's a really nice thing that they have going on here, man. They put us up in a hotel, took us everywhere to eat, and introduced us to everybody. It's nice dude, all they do is promote fights all day long. Any kind of fights, just trying to promote combat sports.

MMANews.com: Yeah man it's a hell of a channel. It's one of the main reasons I switched to digital cable. [laughs]

Brandon Vera: Yeah I wish I could have this channel back home. It's just fighting 24 hours a day.

MMANews.com: So do you have any idea when you'll be back in the UFC?

Brandon Vera: I don't have an exact date but I will be fighting twice before the year is over.

MMANews.com: You must be looking forward to getting back in.

Brandon Vera: [sighs] If you only knew. Think about it. Everybody wants to know what happened to Brandon Vera. Where's he at, what's he doing? I get asked the same thing over and over again and I'm the one who has to live with it. I can't say anything, it's like having sex with no release. I'm sitting here waiting, I'm training, I'm waiting, I'm training, and I can't do anything and can't say anything and I can't fight yet. If all my fans are frustrated multiply that by 100 and that is how I'm feeling right now.

MMANews.com: Yeah like I was saying earlier tons of people want to know.

Brandon Vera: Yeah I see the message boards, I see what they are saying. I'm so limited in what I can and can't say and I really have no answers sometimes. Like, I'm sorry, you know? People will say "Come on Brandon, you know something", but I really don't. It sucks because I really don't know what to say sometimes. All I can do is train and get better and fix the things that I suck at.

MMANews.com: What is your background is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and which belt do you hold?

Brandon Vera: I am a brown belt. I might compete in the world championships this August. They are in the United States in Orange County so I might go. I haven't made up my mind yet but a lot of people are going so we'll see what happens.

MMANews.com: What about your wrestling background? I see you have trained with a lot of the guys at Team Quest.

Brandon Vera: Yeah I was at their training center in Colorado Springs, CO. I was training Greco Roman wrestling. It was good times. I love wrestling, been doing it for a long time.

MMANews.com: Has the lay-off you've had, had any effect on you mentally?


Brandon Vera updates MMANews.com readers on his UFC status ...

Brandon Vera: If I was to tell you no I'd be f***ing lieing [laughs]. I don't care who the f*** you are or how good you think you are, a lay-off like that is going to have its' effect. I'm going to be nervous and have some ring-rust but that's something me and my coaches are working on now. I'll deal with that when the time comes. I figure when the person hits me I'll be right back at home. We'll play it by ear.

MMANews.com: Would it be hard for you to cut to 205 lbs. when you make the decision to do that?

Brandon Vera: No, I dont think it will be hard to do that at all.

MMANews.com: What do you walk around at now?

Brandon Vera: When I'm training really hard about 220 lbs. - 225 lbs. If I'm not training hard, around 230 lbs. - 235 lbs. is normal.

MMANews.com: When you do make your return is there anyone in particular you'd like to get in there with?

Brandon Vera: I have no idea. For my first fight back I really have no idea, but for my second fight back I want [Andrei] Arlovski. I'm not looking past my first fight at all but I want to fight someone in the top three or five in the world in my second fight back. I'm not just all talk you know, I want to find out for myself. I want to know if it's all in my head or if I'm really good.

MMANews.com: That's a good attitude to have man.

Brandon Vera: Yeah, all I can do is put it on the line and see what happens.

MMANews.com: I seen you cornering K.J. Noons when he fought Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett. Do you still train with him?

Brandon Vera: No, unfortunately Mark Dion is his manager and the way that guy is, it would cause too many problems for K.J. if I were to keep training with him. I really like K.J. a lot. He's all fighter. The reason I wanted to improve my stand-up was becaue of K.J. Noons and just watching him fight and train. He got caught by "Krazy Horse" with an overhand right, which is the equalizer in all of MMA. That overhand left or right is everyone's one lucky shot and he got caught with one. I still love watching him fight and wish that I could train with him.

MMANews.com: What was your opinion on the Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson rematch?

Brandon Vera: I thought it played out exactly how it was suppose to play out. Chuck Liddell is invincible until you hit him. Chuck can hit hard and he could destroy you if he hits you but Chuck's brittle if you touch him. I asked Rampage [afterward], "Did you punch him hard?" and he said "You know I hit him hard and I caught him good," but Rampage didn't say it was the hardest punch he's ever thrown by any means. People can argue he didn't see it or it was on the button but you can rock Chuck. Chuck's invincible until you hit him, but once you do it's a brand new game. The only trick is you have to hit Chuck and that's the problem for everybody.

MMANews.com: What did you think about Rampage being the underdog going into that fight considering he held a win over Chuck?

Brandon Vera: I thought that the bookies were going to have a bad night man. I figured the bookies would be paying out a lot of money in the morning and sure enough Rampage pulled it off. There was never any doubt in my mind that Rampage was going to lose that fight. Ever.

MMANews.com: How do you feel he matches up with Dan Henderson?

Brandon Vera: That should be a good fight. Dan's style is just to grind you out and Rampage will go and have a war with you. I'm pulling for Rampage but I like Henderson a lot too. I don't know we'll see how it goes. They both like to swing, both have heavy hands, both like knocking people out, they are both pig-headed when it comes to fighting, you hit me and I'm going to hit you. Rampage has worked on his foot-work a lot more so I'm very interested to see that fight.

MMANews.com: Who are some fighters you look up to?

Brandon Vera: For sure Randy Couture. I mean he's been around since forever man. You really can't say enough about that guy. Rampage Jackson, I really like him a lot. He was down and out and people were [saying] he found Jesus and he sucks now but go ahead and take a look at Rampage now. He's back. I like fighters that were down and out and came back. Denis Kang man, he's another one. He was batting almost .500 then I think he went over .500 then he went back under. Then nobody heard from him for a little while, like six months, now he's back and he's just pounding people. I like guys that overcome adversary and prove to the world who they are and make a stamp on MMA. I respect guys like that. It's motivating. When you put all the bullshit aside and just show that you can bring it. The list goes on and on. Rob Kamen, Lloyd Irvin, those are my coaches. I'd love to put my coaches against anyone elses coaches and see what the hell happens. Those are the guys I look up to so much. That's all I can think of now but I'm sure if you give me a pen and paper I can write out a list of at least 100 guys I look up to.

MMANews.com: Who are some of your favorite fighters to watch?

Brandon Vera: Entertainment wise? Tyson Griffin - that guy is retarded to watch. I like watching Arlovski fight, well before he got gun-shy.

MMANews.com: What do you think happened with Arlovski?

Brandon Vera: I don't know, I guess when you get put to sleep by the same guy twice it has an effect. I can only imagine what it's like. I hope it never happens to me. I'm sure you start to question yourself and think how good you really are. Losing to the same guy twice will make you gun-shy, I guess. I hope he pulls through too, though. Arlovski has a lot to offer still. He's one of my favorite fighters to watch. I love watching Georges St. Pierre fight, I'm trying to think man. I like watching Paul Daley and Duane [Bang] Ludwig fight.

[Joe Stevenson walks in the room]

Brandon Vera: I have Joe Stevenson humping the wall here. There's a bunch of fighters here just being retarded. I like watching the little guys man.

MMANews.com: Yeah man, The little guys always deliver. I don't know why the UFC ever got rid of the division. The talent was always there.

Brandon Vera: Yeah man, I know. It was always there. They have that, what's it called... The Napolean Complex. So we have a bunch of little guys that just want to beat the hell out of each other in the ring [laughs].

MMANews.com: Who do you see winning some of the fights tomorrow night at UFC 73? Let's start with Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz?

Brandon Vera: Tito is one of my favorite fighters to watch too, but I honestly think Rashad is going to take this one. Tito is too rich now and he has too much money.

MMANews.com: [laughs] That's one way to look at it.

Brandon Vera: You think I'm playing, I'm being for real [laughs]. Tito has too much money. He's not as hungry as he used to be. He's not like he was when he was broke and struggling and trying to climb up the ladder. He's famous and he's got money, just think of the money he makes from Punishment Athletics alone every year. Tito needs to go spend a whole bunch of money, go spend all your money Tito and be broke again then get hungry. Come back to being hungry for it. Right now Tito is looking for the big pay day fights but when push comes to shove I don't think he's going to shove Rashad out of the way. Does that make sense?

MMANews.com: You mean like Rashad's not a pushover?

Brandon Vera: Yeah. And hell no Rashad is no pushover. He's hungry man. He's earning his respect. A lot of guys know Rashad is good but he doesn't have respect and that's what he wants and he wants it more than anything. Besides coming to win this fight he's also coming to gain respect. He's not looking for the bonus pay at the end of the fight.

MMANews.com: What about the Middleweight and Lightweight title fights. How do you see them going?

Brandon Vera: Umm, I'm going to pick "The Spider" [Anderson Silva] in the middleweight fight. I like [Nate] Marquardt too but I just love "The Spider's" Muay Thai. I love it and I think that is going to be the deciding factor in the fight. With Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca, I see the first two rounds going to Hermes and if it goes past two rounds it is going to go to Sherk.

MMANews.com: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira makes his UFC debut and I know that's one fight you're looking forward to.

Brandon Vera: Yeah, debut. He's going to go in there and f***ing beat up Heath Herring, that's not a big debut [laughs].

MMANews.com: Can you elaborate on that [laughs]?

Brandon Vera: Well I mean in Heath's last two showings he's come in saying "I'm the hired gun", well that gun must be a little rusty and needs to be cleaned because it hasn't been firing right. He lost his first fight and I didn't even see the second one but I heard Brad Imes was giving it to him. Unless Heath thinks about it and says "Oh shit, I'm fighting Nogueira I need to train", it's just going to be Nog whoopin' his ass. It's really up to Nogueira as to whether he wants the big finish or he wants to beat on him for a while and become adored by the American fans. Then again, who knows anything can happen in the world of MMA. It's suppose to be one guy winning for sure then the other guy ends up winning somehow.

MMANews.com: Yeah this whole year has been nuts - [Matt] Serra knocking out St. Pierre, Henderson knocking out [Vanderlei] Silva...

Brandon Vera: [Gabriel] Gonzaga! That was crazy. Like, Gonzaga f***ing kicks CroCop!

MMANews.com: The irony in that...

Brandon Vera: Is that shit even supposed to happen? Everyone was like "CroCop by head kick", no-no, it was "CroCop goes to sleep by head kick" in the end [laughs].

MMANews.com: What about when and if the UFC brings in Fedor? Should he get "fed" someone like Heath Herring whose gun you say no longer works - not to take anything away from Heath, or do you think it will go like Dana White was quoted as saying recently and that Fedor will most likely get an immediate title shot?

Brandon Vera: I don't really think Fedor has a big name in the American market yet but he has proven himself as the number one Heavyweight in the world so far. Do you remember when Mike Tyson was champion and they were announcing him as like the undisputed, undi-something, yadda yadda yadda, number one heavyweight in the world?

MMANews.com: Oh Yeah.

Brandon Vera: Well, that's the way Fedor is now so I think he would be entitled to a shot but the game is going to be a lot different for Fedor in a cage, especially with all the UFC fighters and the way everyone is hungry now. They want to take it from him. If he does get the belt then there will be a lot of guns coming at him and I'll be one of them.

MMANews.com: So you're looking for a shot at Fedor?

Brandon Vera: Hell yeah, are you serious? Of course [laughs]. Of course I would love to fight Fedor. I'd work with my coaches to come up with a game-plan and do everything to follow it.

MMANews.com: When you look back it must be unfortunate missing that fight with Sylvia.

Brandon Vera: Shit dude I know, you trying to ruin my day? [laughs] Yeah, it sucks man. I hate thinking about it. When I sit and think about it, it's depressing.

MMANews.com: Ok Brandon, I guess it's about time we wrap things up here. Is there anyone you would like to thank, any sponsors you would like to mention?

Brandon Vera: Well, I have to thank The Fight Network for bringing me out here. I want to thank all my sponsors and Rob Kamen. I want to thank everyone who is helping me build my school, Alliance Training Center, there's too many people to thank. I want to thank everyone, my fans, the people that believe in me, hell, the people that don't believe in me.

MMANews.com: Anything you would like to say to your fans? You have a lot of them out there dieing to see you in action again.

Brandon Vera: I just want to thank my fans for standing behind me. I will be back soon and when I do I'm going to come back and try out some new stuff. It's going to be good times. We're going to make some big things happen in 2007 and 2008.

MMANews.com: Alright man, thanks so much for taking the time out to speak with me.

Brandon Vera: Hey, thank you very much. Have a good day.

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