Props: Baltimore Sun
Quoteworthy:
"They offered me Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Lyoto Machida and then Reese Andy. I turned down Machida. He’s not someone you take on short notice. You gotta get ready for Machida. The other fighters turned down the other fights so that’s how we came to Reese."
Heavyweight-turned light heavyweight, Brandon Vera, reveals a personal behind the scenes take on what went down in the scramble to put together UFC Fight Night 14: "Silva vs. Irvin" on short notice to counter the Affliction "Banned" show that same evening (July 19). It appears that there were a lot of names and potential match ups swirling; however, not everyone was comfortable competing with little time to prepare. James Irvin -- who takes on Anderson Silva in the main event -- recently told MMAmania.com that four fighters turned down offers to take on "Spider" before he was approached.
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