Brandon Vera trains for Fabricio Werdum UFC 85 fight (Video)

by MMAmania.com on May 1, 2008 11:41 AM EDT

(Thanks to BloodyElbow.com for the assist.)

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I see Brandon taking this then facing one more test before he fights Minatauro..
Whatever happened to Arlovski?

by Anonymousf*ck on May 1, 2008 11:44 AM EDT reply actions

If and when Vera gets past this test, maybe all the haters will calm down saying that he’s overated since Verdum has beaten Gonzaga twice and looked good against Arlovski

by Vera-Liddell-GSP-Edgar on May 1, 2008 11:48 AM EDT reply actions

I really want to see Brandon do well. He’s always the underdog.

by Big Jake on May 1, 2008 11:53 AM EDT reply actions

I wonder who the favorite will be in this match up.

Question to all of you: who will be the favorite and what will be the odds?

I think Werdum should be a slight favorite and I think Fabricio has a great chance of winning this fight. Verra needs to stop being lazy, sit his ass in a sauna, cut weight and fight at 205 where he belongs. If he cant beat Werdum, who wont Dwarf him in size, he really needs to go down to LHW!!!

by john on May 1, 2008 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions

As a general rule, I view any HW that has lost to Tim Sylvia as the underdog in a fight. In the random case that both HW’s have lost to Sylvia, the odds are even.

by James S on May 1, 2008 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions

There are lots of HWs who have lost to Big Tim. John, I would think the odds would be close to even, maybe minus-115 on each. I think Vegas will have Vera as a slight favorite though just because he has more name recognition in America. Ver will probably open around minus-130 or 135 with Werdum at plus-110 or even money.

by PW on May 1, 2008 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions

PW: I think you will be correct about the odds. Sounds about right to me!

by john on May 1, 2008 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Brandon Vera is one of my favorite fighters, that said I relly think he needs to go to LHW. He’s just too lazy, I mean isn’t Rampage bigger than Vera? I can’t see him beating Nog, but he’s still an exciting fighter

by kevin on May 1, 2008 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions

How old is Vera? I know cutting weight gets more difficult as you get older. Seems he relies on outstanding skills and doesn’t think of the benefits of dropping weight and fighting smaller guys.

by chefdaddy on May 2, 2008 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions

He’s 30.

by Pat on May 2, 2008 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions

After he beats Werdum they need to give him an immediate title shot. He is one of the most charasmatic and marketable fighters in the UFC. The HW division desperatly needs a spark and I think Vera could be the one. Every one of his fights is exciting (except for the Silvia fight). Who else is going to fight Nog?

by bnf on May 1, 2008 12:07 PM EDT reply actions

God I hope Vera can win. This guy is so good and well rounded.

by The Anomaly on May 1, 2008 12:49 PM EDT reply actions

Vera is good and so is Werdum. This should be a sick match. I don’t know why people are not all hyped up already….

by lucas on May 1, 2008 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions

i wish ax kicks or soccer kicks to the ‘package’ were allowed so that vera could stomp on werdum’s head or punt his noggins, while getting called into guard. that just shows that a fighter is 1 dimensional, can’t stand up, or too lazy to go for the takedown. this has the possibility of looking like the werdum vs arlofski fight. hope not.

by kama kaze on May 1, 2008 1:22 PM EDT reply actions

Kama Kaze: I actually expect to see a much improved stand up than we have ever seen by Werdum when he steps in the cage and fights Verra. I am not sure yet who will win, and what makes this a great match up is that I believe it will be a close fight that either guy can win. Werdum did the smartest thing that he could possibly do for his career in September, switching camps and going to Chute Box. The move paid dividends for him against Gonzaga and It will only improve. Of course I am not naive enough to think that his Muy Tai will be as good as Verra come June because its just wont. But it will be improved enough to make it a very interesting fight. I love Brandon Verra, I really enjoy his style and find most of his fights very entertaining and Werdum has not been that entertaining at times but I think he is getting better. Werdum’s advantage, IMO humble oppinion is that he has fought better heavyweights than Verra has. Verra has only tested himself against Sylvia. Although he lost to Big Tim, I was very impressed with his durability because He was the smallest heavyweight fighting the biggest. Werdum however has fought some top level Heavyweights like:

UFC Champion and Heavyweight Legend Nogueira.I really enjoyed his Loss in the Absolute Grand Prix. It was a very entertaining decision

He defeated Gonzaga twice, recently by TKO, which was set up by his improved Muy Tai

He beat Aleksander Emelienenko in Canada, Submitting him quickly

He lost a close, but boring fight to Arlovski

Bottom line, I am still on the fence about this fight. what I do know is it will be a great and evenly matched fight. The fights I enjoy the most are the ones so close that I cant even make up my mind about….Now thats a good match up, not that rampage vs. Forrest mess! lol

I am going to talk about what a mis match that fight is until Rampage knocks his block off in July. Its a shame because I am a Forrest fan, but the UFC building him up unreasonably like this to market him to the casual fan is really starting to piss me off!

by john on May 1, 2008 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions

really? forrest isnt just hype, he tore shogun up. plus the only way i can see quinton beating forrest is by knockout, but i can see forrest beating quinton in many different scenerios

by Greg on May 1, 2008 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Greg, if you can see all of that, maybe it’s time to get your eyes checked out? :p

by linx on May 1, 2008 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.

by Vera-Liddell-GSP-Edgar on May 1, 2008 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions

ha, thats pretty funny i had almost this exact same argument before the shogun fight.

by Greg on May 1, 2008 11:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Vera needs to watch out. Look at the clip carefully.

He telegraphs every kick. Watch how he gives little hop before kicks the pad. That split second could be the difference b/w a blocked kick and knockout.

by Alex on May 1, 2008 2:13 PM EDT reply actions

Those are just drills dude. Vera’s already proved he can knock people out with his feet.

by Pat on May 1, 2008 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Dude, do you train? That’s called a switch step. It has nothing to do with telegraphing a kick.

by Luke Thomas on May 2, 2008 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions

i think brandon vera is overated by far. i hope he steps up his game here. i dont think he is ready for a title shot at all. Mir should be first or it should be MIR VS VERA before a title shot. Mir will be champion again. unless arlovski’s contract gets extended. then i think he should be next inline for a title shot. who else is there that is considered a top contender?

by wowie on May 1, 2008 2:43 PM EDT reply actions

VERA KILLED MIR in there first match what are you smoking? Mir is nothing compared to Vera in the stand up department! And has enough jiu jitsu to counter submissions

by matthew on May 1, 2008 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Who cares about Vera… he’s got tons of talent, but he doesn’t like to get hit…. that’s what I witnessed when he fought Silvia.

by THORAZINE on May 1, 2008 3:12 PM EDT reply actions

Obviously you wouldnt want to get hit if your facing a mamoth 6’8 giant like sylvia! No fighter wants to get hit because it might be a fatal blow!

by matthew on May 1, 2008 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions

He was back pedaling, avoiding and looked like he was waiting for the fight to end and gave up trying to win. No one likes to get hit, but if fighting is your choosen profession…? Get the point?

by THORAZINE on May 1, 2008 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions

vera broke his arm in the first round. he even won the 2nd round of his match with sylvia. doesnt that show that a one armed vera can stay with good (but boring) fighters like sylvia? kalib “broke” his foot, and ran the whole way. at least vera fought and even took a round.

by weoweoweo on May 2, 2008 2:22 AM EDT up reply actions

Werdum by Submission in the 2nd.

by Howie on May 1, 2008 3:44 PM EDT reply actions

Agree! Vera needs to quit kicking bags and start training his BJJ and defense.

by Billy Carnage on May 1, 2008 4:06 PM EDT reply actions

Brandon always keeps his BJJ skills sharp.

by Pat on May 1, 2008 8:14 PM EDT up reply actions

that was some shoddy camera work.

and what’s up with the comment responses overlapping eachother? is it just my computer… i’ve never seen that before.

by Fidel Cashflow on May 1, 2008 4:16 PM EDT reply actions

nevermind that second part, it’s gone already. probably my lame computer…

by Fidel Cashflow on May 1, 2008 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s not your computer, I see it once in a while too. I think it’s just a bug since they changed to the new format.

by Gord on May 1, 2008 11:45 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m so hype for this fight. Get ’em Brandon!
(…what a respectful young man Jake ’O Brien is.)

by Ground-Game on May 1, 2008 6:48 PM EDT reply actions

I doubt the UFC would let Vera drop to LHW with the HW division being as thin as it is

by midwestbred on May 2, 2008 1:41 AM EDT reply actions

The lh championship fight is anybodys fight. I am picking Rampage but that does not mean Forrest does not have a very good chance. If you think he’s hype and not that solid of a fighter you dont know MMA well. That simple homey.

by Payaam on May 4, 2008 12:26 AM EDT reply actions