Brandon Vera Returns to Action Against James Te Huna at UFC on FUEL 4
It’s hard to imagine at this point in his career, but there was a time not too long ago that Brandon Vera was knocking on the door of a heavyweight title shot. Consecutive losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum quickly squashed this notion, and perhaps in an attempt to save his career, Vera dropped to light heavyweight. The results thus far have been nothing short of disastrous.
Since dropping to 205, Vera:
1. Scored a weak UD over Reese Andy in his debut at UFN 14
2. Was made Keith Jardine’s personal whipping boy at UFC 89
3. Was nearly bear hugged to death by Randy Couture at UFC 105
4. Had his face ground into a fine powder by Jon Jones at UFC Live 1
5. Suffered the second most embarrassing loss in UFC history* when Thiago Silva used him as his personal set of bongos before treating his face like that of a three dollar hooker at UFC 125. But hey, the fight was changed to a no-contest, so that’s something, right?
6. Had his arm broken by a guy he was supposed to destroy at UFC 137.
*We all know the most embarrassing loss in UFC History will always belong to Matt Lindland
After Silva was popped for steroids in the aftermath of his win over Vera and served a subsequent year-long suspension, “The Truth” was supposed to welcome that “piece of shit juice monkey” back to the octagon at UFC on FX 3. However, when Vera found out that the aformentioned broken arm he sustained against Elliot Marshall would not be healed up in time, he was forced to withdraw from the rematch.
Vera might want to consider wearing his protective face guard ala Kobe Bryant when he squares off against James Te Huna, because that New-Zealander packs some serious power in his hands. Te Huna is currently 3-1 in the octagon, with all of his victories coming by way of uber violent (T)KO. He suffered his only UFC loss via rear-naked choke to top contender Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 127, so if Vera is smart, he’ll be looking to take this one to the ground, as Te Huna has shown a weakness for submissions in the past.
No date or location have been named for UFC on FUEL 4, though it is expected to place sometime in July.
Who you got?
-J. Jones
