BloodyKnux
06-20-2006, 07:53 AM
http://bloodyknux.com/images/pics_articles/brandonvera.jpg
BLOODYKNUX.COM PRESENTS AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH...
BRANDON
"THE TRUTH"
VERA!
Click here to join one of the best MMA discussion forums on the web to discuss this interview now! (http://www.bloodyknux.com/register/php)
BK: I want to start off by asking you, how did you end up in the Air Force being from Norfolk VA? (Major Naval Station)
BV: I always have been that way. Whatever everyone is doing, I do the opposite.
BK: Where you were stationed at? Did you spend much time overseas?
BV: No actually I ended up stationed at Mcguire AFB in New Jersey although I wanted to be overseas. It was ok though because I joined the Air Force Wrestling Team there.
BK: Did the discipline you learned in a military career help you in training to become a pro MMA fighter?
BV: It most definitely has. When the alarm clock goes off now I know I have the responsibility to get up and go run or do my first morning workout. I just get up and go do it, no matter how tired I am and I do attribute that to the military training.
BK: What is your standard training day like?
BV: When I am in training for a fight. I'll train anywhere from two three times a day for a total of 2-5 hours a day. High intensity and high pace is the key to that training. When i'm not training for a fight I usually train for two hours a day. That training is more studying based and working on training applications. The pace isn’t high but i’m learning a lot of different strategies and movements.
BK: At City Boxing, You don’t have teammates who are in the UFC to train with like an ATT team or MFS team does. Whom do you train with on a consistent basis at City Boxing that are at UFC caliber and prepare you for your UFC bouts?
BV: I have a lot of guys I train with that are hungry, guys that are trying to make it to the UFC, KOTC, WFA, PRIDE type shows. These guys have a lot of desire and drive and that helps a lot. I train with Ed Radcliffe, Wade Shipp, KJ Noons amongst others. In L.A. I train with a lot of guys from the Bomb Squad including Chris Riley, Rob Kaman and a man I simply call Ariel., Also I train with Jeremy Williams, the former heavyweight boxing contender.
BK: I love Jeremy Williams, but I think most people will remember him best for his HL reel KO loss to Sam Peter.
BV: He is going to make his name in MMA. He is getting nasty. He is going to cause some trouble for people in MMA as his kicks are quite nasty now and his overall MMA game is something that has improved by leaps and bounds since he started.
BK: What in your own words is the one part of you game that needs the most improvement?
BV: I think the biggest thing that I can improve on is my standup. That is coming along well though. I’m not afraid to use my hands, which is what causes many problems, but I'd like to improve the finesse part of my standup game. Ideally I want my hands to be at the point to when I hit the mitts, people go JESUS! THOSE WERE SOME HARD PUNCHES!
BK: You just want to tear the leather off the pads huh?
BV: Exactly. When I kick the pads, the room stops. When I kick things people pay attention. I want that to be the same when I punch things.
BK: How do you rate your takedown skills amongst the top caliber guys in UFC?
BV: For sure. I am probably top 2-3 in the company in that category. I just choose not to use them. I don’t care for them. If the fight ends up on the ground, that’s fine. I wont say never but but I don’t think I will be shooting in on anyone in the near future. If I take anyone down it will be from the clinch, I don’t like to shoot and go all the way down. My biggest fear I have, and it’s a reoccurring dream I have, is that I get kneed in the face when I am shooting for a double leg. That’s why I don’t shoot. I'll show off the takedown skills in a wrestling tournament, I just don’t care to in a MMA fight.
BK: Speaking of wrestling, do you have any plans to do another Abu Dhabi tournament?
BV: I wouldn’t mind doing another Abu Dhabi tournament as long as the UFC gives the OK. It was a great experience and everyone there was cool. Its basically practice for what I do in the cage. It would basically be like another hard training day.
BK: A few questions now about your UFC in ring experience. First one is about the Justin Eilers Fight. What did it feel like to you with the way you brutally knocked him out? Was the flying knee basically icing on the cake?
BV: It was definitely icing on the cake. I have seen a fight before where a fighter knocked down his opponent and started celebrating and then the knocked down opponent got up and punched him in the mouth and won.
BK: Better to be safe than sorry?
BV: Exactly. I was just making sure he wasn’t getting up to swing again.
BK: Speaking of celebrations, what is the deal with your finishing pose after your fights?
BV: I have no idea where that came from. It started after the Eilers fight and everyone liked it so much and I feel a natural high from doing it. I just felt like dancing.
BK: Now honestly with the Assuerio Silva fight, could you have imagined beating him in round 1 coming into the fight.
BV: Hell no. I don’t think anyone thought that would be possible, especially the bookies.
BK: My next question now centers on your weight. Do you want to stick at heavyweight or would you like to give 205 a try?
BV: I want to stick at heavyweight right now unless someone wants to pay me enough to drop to 205. Right now I’m happy. Everyone says I’m too little to hang with the big guys. Until someone whips my ass and makes me feel like I should go home and cry to my mom, i’m staying at heavyweight. I’m not talking a split decision or a cut or something like that, i’m talking about beating me down, until that would occur, I’m sticking at heavyweight. I walk around at about 225-230 and when I train I get down to about 219 and then back up to 222 by fight week.
BK: Is 222-225 your ideal weight to be competitive at the heavyweight division considering you have to deal with massive guys like Sylvia?
BV: Yep.
BK: Out of the two, which one would you rather take on, Arlovski or Sylvia? Or is it basically whoever has the belt?
BV: The more exciting fight would be against Arlovski. Tim is good at what he does and he is very long and ogrish. He sticks the jab out there and it’s just as long as my foot jab
BK: How would you deal with the reach if you got in with Sylvia?
BV: I would just stand on the outside until the crowd started booing and made Tim want to make a mistake. It would end up being a good fight as I will bring the fight to him but I wouldn’t rush inside on him. Everyone gets mad because Tim jabs them and they can’t get inside so they try to run in and do something stupid. I would stay outside all day long with Tim. I would let the fans boo, Tim get frustrated and come on inside. I might take Tim down or clinch with him and try to work an inside game. If it ended up being an outside fight I would parry and block everything he threw at me. I would employ a Pedro Rizzo style of fighting so to speak until the fight went to the inside.
BK: You are a former WKA champion and won the K1 Trials in 2004. Did you ever consider a career in K1 USA?
BV: I did. They offered me a contract four months before I started with the UFC?
BK: Did you just decide that you wanted to do MMA instead?
BV: Nah, they just didn’t pay enough money.
BK: They didn’t offer you an option to do MMA as well as just straight K1 bouts?
BV: Nope. They just wanted me for stand up based off what I did at the trials.
BK: It was reported in USA Today, in the very well written piece on your fight in LA, that through endorsements etc you earned over 60 thousand dollars in this past bout. What sort of accomplishment for yourself, does a monetary number like that mean to you as your growth and success as a pro fighter? Does it mean more to you to make that type of money or are the belts more important to you?
BV: The money is more important most definitely. The belts are just gold. Right now I just want to make sure my family is ready to retire when they want to. I want my mom and dad to retire this year. I’m trying to pay off their house and make sure they have no more bills. Id like them to be able to just work a part time job to kill time during the day. , and if they don’t like their boss, they can tell him f off and move on to the next job if they want. I don’t have kids yet, but I want my kids to have any and everything they want. I want to spoil my kids but also teach them responsibility. I’m going to make MMA a big part of their lives so they understand that what I do is not all fun and games. It won’t always be easy fighting and I will get my head beat in sometimes. I only plan on fighting for about 3-5 more years so i’m trying to make as much money as I can while i’m healthy enough to do so in this game.
BK: Do you feel that some people might try and gun for you a bit more because you come off as cocky?
BV: I think some people were gunning for me until they saw me submit Assuerio Silva. I think that is a good and bad thing. Some call me cocky but I look at it as being confident. I don’t talk smack about any fighters, except for one or two who talked shit about me first. I really believe in my game, my training and my coaches and there is nothing you can tell me to change my mind. This to me is like a religion. Imagine a hell bent Mormon and you tried to change what they believed, what would happen?
BK: Well people will gun for you regardless because you are on a nice winning streak.
BV: Exactly. It doesn’t matter who is in front of me now. The way I have set up things now, it doesn’t matter if it’s a chump or if it’s Arlovski, I have to beat that guy. I have no choice. That’s what ill do from here on out.
BK: Brandon, thank you so much for your time today. Do you have sponsors or anyone personally you’d like to thank at this time?
BV: I want to thank Ozzie’s plumbing, Heavy Hitters, Joel Boone, and Gameness as well as everyone at City Boxing. Also I'd like to shout out my fans in the Asian Community throughout California as I have been doing a lot of work with them, especially the Filipino Community in LA. Lastly I'd like to thank all my friends, family and fans who have supported me through my career so far.
Tyler Horton
*NOTE*- Id like to give thanks to our forum memebers Lance, Sean, Michael , Rory and Manny for their question contributions to this interview as well as our staff members John Walters and Christopher Friederich. Our member participation is invaluable to our interviews and they wouldnt be possible without theirs and our staff's help
COME TO THE BK FORUMS NOW TO DISCUSS THE BRANDON VERA INTERVIEW BY CLICKING THIS LINK! (http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17476)
BLOODYKNUX.COM PRESENTS AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH...
BRANDON
"THE TRUTH"
VERA!
Click here to join one of the best MMA discussion forums on the web to discuss this interview now! (http://www.bloodyknux.com/register/php)
BK: I want to start off by asking you, how did you end up in the Air Force being from Norfolk VA? (Major Naval Station)
BV: I always have been that way. Whatever everyone is doing, I do the opposite.
BK: Where you were stationed at? Did you spend much time overseas?
BV: No actually I ended up stationed at Mcguire AFB in New Jersey although I wanted to be overseas. It was ok though because I joined the Air Force Wrestling Team there.
BK: Did the discipline you learned in a military career help you in training to become a pro MMA fighter?
BV: It most definitely has. When the alarm clock goes off now I know I have the responsibility to get up and go run or do my first morning workout. I just get up and go do it, no matter how tired I am and I do attribute that to the military training.
BK: What is your standard training day like?
BV: When I am in training for a fight. I'll train anywhere from two three times a day for a total of 2-5 hours a day. High intensity and high pace is the key to that training. When i'm not training for a fight I usually train for two hours a day. That training is more studying based and working on training applications. The pace isn’t high but i’m learning a lot of different strategies and movements.
BK: At City Boxing, You don’t have teammates who are in the UFC to train with like an ATT team or MFS team does. Whom do you train with on a consistent basis at City Boxing that are at UFC caliber and prepare you for your UFC bouts?
BV: I have a lot of guys I train with that are hungry, guys that are trying to make it to the UFC, KOTC, WFA, PRIDE type shows. These guys have a lot of desire and drive and that helps a lot. I train with Ed Radcliffe, Wade Shipp, KJ Noons amongst others. In L.A. I train with a lot of guys from the Bomb Squad including Chris Riley, Rob Kaman and a man I simply call Ariel., Also I train with Jeremy Williams, the former heavyweight boxing contender.
BK: I love Jeremy Williams, but I think most people will remember him best for his HL reel KO loss to Sam Peter.
BV: He is going to make his name in MMA. He is getting nasty. He is going to cause some trouble for people in MMA as his kicks are quite nasty now and his overall MMA game is something that has improved by leaps and bounds since he started.
BK: What in your own words is the one part of you game that needs the most improvement?
BV: I think the biggest thing that I can improve on is my standup. That is coming along well though. I’m not afraid to use my hands, which is what causes many problems, but I'd like to improve the finesse part of my standup game. Ideally I want my hands to be at the point to when I hit the mitts, people go JESUS! THOSE WERE SOME HARD PUNCHES!
BK: You just want to tear the leather off the pads huh?
BV: Exactly. When I kick the pads, the room stops. When I kick things people pay attention. I want that to be the same when I punch things.
BK: How do you rate your takedown skills amongst the top caliber guys in UFC?
BV: For sure. I am probably top 2-3 in the company in that category. I just choose not to use them. I don’t care for them. If the fight ends up on the ground, that’s fine. I wont say never but but I don’t think I will be shooting in on anyone in the near future. If I take anyone down it will be from the clinch, I don’t like to shoot and go all the way down. My biggest fear I have, and it’s a reoccurring dream I have, is that I get kneed in the face when I am shooting for a double leg. That’s why I don’t shoot. I'll show off the takedown skills in a wrestling tournament, I just don’t care to in a MMA fight.
BK: Speaking of wrestling, do you have any plans to do another Abu Dhabi tournament?
BV: I wouldn’t mind doing another Abu Dhabi tournament as long as the UFC gives the OK. It was a great experience and everyone there was cool. Its basically practice for what I do in the cage. It would basically be like another hard training day.
BK: A few questions now about your UFC in ring experience. First one is about the Justin Eilers Fight. What did it feel like to you with the way you brutally knocked him out? Was the flying knee basically icing on the cake?
BV: It was definitely icing on the cake. I have seen a fight before where a fighter knocked down his opponent and started celebrating and then the knocked down opponent got up and punched him in the mouth and won.
BK: Better to be safe than sorry?
BV: Exactly. I was just making sure he wasn’t getting up to swing again.
BK: Speaking of celebrations, what is the deal with your finishing pose after your fights?
BV: I have no idea where that came from. It started after the Eilers fight and everyone liked it so much and I feel a natural high from doing it. I just felt like dancing.
BK: Now honestly with the Assuerio Silva fight, could you have imagined beating him in round 1 coming into the fight.
BV: Hell no. I don’t think anyone thought that would be possible, especially the bookies.
BK: My next question now centers on your weight. Do you want to stick at heavyweight or would you like to give 205 a try?
BV: I want to stick at heavyweight right now unless someone wants to pay me enough to drop to 205. Right now I’m happy. Everyone says I’m too little to hang with the big guys. Until someone whips my ass and makes me feel like I should go home and cry to my mom, i’m staying at heavyweight. I’m not talking a split decision or a cut or something like that, i’m talking about beating me down, until that would occur, I’m sticking at heavyweight. I walk around at about 225-230 and when I train I get down to about 219 and then back up to 222 by fight week.
BK: Is 222-225 your ideal weight to be competitive at the heavyweight division considering you have to deal with massive guys like Sylvia?
BV: Yep.
BK: Out of the two, which one would you rather take on, Arlovski or Sylvia? Or is it basically whoever has the belt?
BV: The more exciting fight would be against Arlovski. Tim is good at what he does and he is very long and ogrish. He sticks the jab out there and it’s just as long as my foot jab
BK: How would you deal with the reach if you got in with Sylvia?
BV: I would just stand on the outside until the crowd started booing and made Tim want to make a mistake. It would end up being a good fight as I will bring the fight to him but I wouldn’t rush inside on him. Everyone gets mad because Tim jabs them and they can’t get inside so they try to run in and do something stupid. I would stay outside all day long with Tim. I would let the fans boo, Tim get frustrated and come on inside. I might take Tim down or clinch with him and try to work an inside game. If it ended up being an outside fight I would parry and block everything he threw at me. I would employ a Pedro Rizzo style of fighting so to speak until the fight went to the inside.
BK: You are a former WKA champion and won the K1 Trials in 2004. Did you ever consider a career in K1 USA?
BV: I did. They offered me a contract four months before I started with the UFC?
BK: Did you just decide that you wanted to do MMA instead?
BV: Nah, they just didn’t pay enough money.
BK: They didn’t offer you an option to do MMA as well as just straight K1 bouts?
BV: Nope. They just wanted me for stand up based off what I did at the trials.
BK: It was reported in USA Today, in the very well written piece on your fight in LA, that through endorsements etc you earned over 60 thousand dollars in this past bout. What sort of accomplishment for yourself, does a monetary number like that mean to you as your growth and success as a pro fighter? Does it mean more to you to make that type of money or are the belts more important to you?
BV: The money is more important most definitely. The belts are just gold. Right now I just want to make sure my family is ready to retire when they want to. I want my mom and dad to retire this year. I’m trying to pay off their house and make sure they have no more bills. Id like them to be able to just work a part time job to kill time during the day. , and if they don’t like their boss, they can tell him f off and move on to the next job if they want. I don’t have kids yet, but I want my kids to have any and everything they want. I want to spoil my kids but also teach them responsibility. I’m going to make MMA a big part of their lives so they understand that what I do is not all fun and games. It won’t always be easy fighting and I will get my head beat in sometimes. I only plan on fighting for about 3-5 more years so i’m trying to make as much money as I can while i’m healthy enough to do so in this game.
BK: Do you feel that some people might try and gun for you a bit more because you come off as cocky?
BV: I think some people were gunning for me until they saw me submit Assuerio Silva. I think that is a good and bad thing. Some call me cocky but I look at it as being confident. I don’t talk smack about any fighters, except for one or two who talked shit about me first. I really believe in my game, my training and my coaches and there is nothing you can tell me to change my mind. This to me is like a religion. Imagine a hell bent Mormon and you tried to change what they believed, what would happen?
BK: Well people will gun for you regardless because you are on a nice winning streak.
BV: Exactly. It doesn’t matter who is in front of me now. The way I have set up things now, it doesn’t matter if it’s a chump or if it’s Arlovski, I have to beat that guy. I have no choice. That’s what ill do from here on out.
BK: Brandon, thank you so much for your time today. Do you have sponsors or anyone personally you’d like to thank at this time?
BV: I want to thank Ozzie’s plumbing, Heavy Hitters, Joel Boone, and Gameness as well as everyone at City Boxing. Also I'd like to shout out my fans in the Asian Community throughout California as I have been doing a lot of work with them, especially the Filipino Community in LA. Lastly I'd like to thank all my friends, family and fans who have supported me through my career so far.
Tyler Horton
*NOTE*- Id like to give thanks to our forum memebers Lance, Sean, Michael , Rory and Manny for their question contributions to this interview as well as our staff members John Walters and Christopher Friederich. Our member participation is invaluable to our interviews and they wouldnt be possible without theirs and our staff's help
COME TO THE BK FORUMS NOW TO DISCUSS THE BRANDON VERA INTERVIEW BY CLICKING THIS LINK! (http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17476)