Brandon
Vera figures to have few regrets whenever he exits the cage for
the final time.
The 44-year-old Norfolk, Virginia, native has been a multi-division
success and excelled inside two of the most visible mixed martial
arts organizations in the sport:
One
Championship and the
Ultimate Fighting Championship. However, Vera now finds himself
on a two-fight losing streak, his future muddied by both age and
mileage. “The Truth” last competed at One Championship “Dangal” on
April 28, 2021, when he suffered a second-round technical knockout
loss to
Arjan
Singh Bhullar and surrendered the promotion’s undisputed
heavyweight title.
As the MMA community awaits word on Vera’s next move, a look at
some of the rivalries that have helped shape his 20-year
career:
Vera announced his arrival as a serious threat in the Ultimate
Fighting Championship’s heavyweight division when he buried the
former titleholder with punches in the first round of their UFC 65
showcase on Nov. 18, 2006 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California.
Mir succumbed to blows just 69 seconds into Round 1 before a crowd
of 14,666. Vera staggered the Las Vegas native with a left hook,
followed it with a right cross and created some real problems with
a brutal knee strike from the clinch. Mir attacked the legs, only
to be met with a textbook sprawl, his situation deteriorating by
the second. Vera settled in side control, dropped elbows and
ultimately moved to a kneeling position in half guard, at which he
cut loose with right hands on the turtled Mir until referee Steve
Mazzagatti had seen enough.
The two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World
Championships gold medalist put away Vera with punches in the first
round of their UFC 85 heavyweight attraction on June 7, 2008 at the
O2 Arena in London. Werdum drew the curtain 4:40 into Round 1, as
he became the first man to beat “The Truth” inside the distance.
Vera stunned the longtime Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with a
right hand midway through the period but failed to keep him at bay
long enough to exploit the opening. Werdum executed a trip
takedown, climbed to full mount and let punches fly from both
hands. Vera managed to avoid physical harm but his inability to
offer meaningful resistance from his back resulted in the stoppage.
The setback led the
Lloyd Irvin
protégé to decide to downshift to 205 pounds.
“Big Ben” spoiled Vera’s return to the heavyweight division, as he
put away the
Alliance MMA export with a hailstorm of knees and punches in
the third round of their UFC 164 feature on Aug. 31, 2013 at the
BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Rothwell slammed the door
1:54 into Round 3. Vera circled and countered for much of the
match, frustrating the monstrous Kenosha, Wisconsin, native with
pace, movement and measured offense. Kicks to the legs and body
were the primary weapons for “The Truth,” along with a few left
hooks. Fed up with the pursuit, Rothwell dive-bombed the
Greco-Roman wrestler in the third round, burying him with knees and
punches for the finish. It marked the end of Vera’s 15-fight stay
in the UFC, as he linked arms with the Singapore-based One
Championship organization a little more than a year later.
Vera laid claim to the vacant One Championship heavyweight title
when he knocked out the Taiwanese “Typhoon” in the first round of
their “Spirit of Champions” headliner on Dec. 11, 2015 at the Mall
of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines. Cheng, who entered the cage on
a four-fight winning streak, bowed out a mere 26 seconds into Round
1. The two men traded leg kicks at the start and engaged in a brief
close-quarters exchange before moving into open space. Vera dropped
Cheng to a knee with a left hook, floored him with a subsequent
head kick and finished his supine counterpart with a pair of
hammerfists. “The Truth” went on to defend the title on two
occasions and enjoyed a historic 1,982-day reign atop the
heavyweight division.