brandon vera
The Zuffa Freezeout Examined
Contrary to the Countdown to UFC 89’s contention that Brandon Vera sat out of competition for a year due to “management problems”, in reality Brandon was the initial test case in the “Zuffa Freeze Out” strategy. The freeze out strategy mainly consists of the front loading of fights on a fighters contract in order to increase negotiating power with the threat of holding out the fighter until nearly the end of the contract before giving said fighter their last fight. Such a measure cuts down the fighters ability to generate income from fights and sponsorship money as well as impacting the fighter value if he chooses to exit the UFC. Other noted fighter who have gotten or look to get the treatment are Andre Arlovski and Roger Huerta.
While the UFC is able to use their multiple marketing platforms to rehabilitate a fighter’s profile and visibility if they eventually resign a fighter, the UFC isn’t able to do such a job on an athlete’s skillset and experience level that veers towards stagnation during such a “freeze out” period. Such a deterioration looks to be the case with a fighter like Brandon Vera...
Dana unwittingly seems to put forward the idea that his own freeze out strategy impaired the value of the same product he ended up reinvesting in. Such long layoffs would have a detrimental affect on the athlete. While it is admirable to think that fighters will keep themselves in shape and working on their game during such a layoff, that may not be the truth of the matter. An example of this would be a fighter like be Rampage Jackson, who came into his fight against Forrest Griffin looking like a shadow of his former physical self due to a ten month layoff and his performance seemed to bear that out.
Once again the UFC will cut off its nose to spite its own face. By keeping these fighters on the sideline the promotion is not only hurt its marketability it is also keeping the fighters from maintaining an active schedule. Guys like Rampage and Vera have been fighting all their lives and are used to a routine. I have said it so many times when it comes to The Ultimate Fighter: it is not fair to ask these guys to go 8 months without a fight and expect them to put on a great performance.
To keep fighters like Vera and Arlovski on the shelf to prove a point or to strengthen your bargaining power is insane. These are guys who the fans want to see fight and I know the UFC can bring these guys back from the dead if they really want but wouldn't it make more sense to keep these guys fresh on people's minds? I know that the UFC can afford to have fighters like Huerta, Vera and Arlovski sit out because of the abundance of talent it has but why not get the most out of them while you still can?
Maybe it's just me and I can't find it in my heart to be a ruthless prick but what's right is right. These guys lay it all out on the line for this company and there isn't a second thought given when it comes time to try and screw them over. Hopefully another viable entity will come around and give these fighters an alternative to the UFC but as we have seen recently we shouldn't hold our breath.
Dana Says Vera Is Not The Same Fighter He Used To Be
From MMANews.com:
“As soon as he had a few wins and all the money got involved and his new contract and his ex-manager and all that bullshit, he’s changed. He’s not the same fighter he was. He needs to put all that shit behind him and he needs to come back and be the cocky, crazy Brandon Vera that I met a few years ago. That kid needs to come back. It seems that now the money’s involved, he doesn’t take chances like he used to, he doesn’t let his hands go like he used to. He’s got to come back and be the old Brandon Vera."
I couldn't agree with Dana more. This quote was before yesterday's lackluster, uninspired. lethargic split decision loss to Keith Jardine. Nothing against Jardine -- he is a tough fighter who works as hard as anyone in the business -- but he doesn't have half the talent that Vera does.
When Vera first came back against Sylvia and lost I attributed the loss to the long layoff and the fact that he was so much smaller than Sylvia. When Vera lost to Werdum I thought it was an unfair stoppage and given that the fight ended so early we didn't get to see him showcase his skills.
Then Vera dropped to 205, which is the best place for him to be, and he beat Reese Andy in a boring fight that didn't do anything but show his lack of conditioning. Again I gave Vera the benefit of the doubt because he was cutting weight and fighting at 205 for the first time. What excuse does Vera have now after yesterday's performance? I don't have any to offer this time.
Brandon Vera is Down to 202 lbs.
Brandon Vera recently spoke to UFC.com and had a few things of interest to say.
On his previous outlook on fighting:
“I’ve never told anybody this, but, I’d been treating this whole thing as kind of a hobby,” says Vera from his training camp in Camp Springs, Maryland. “The best quote I heard was, ‘If you treat business as a hobby, it’s going to pay you like a hobby—but if you treat your business as a business, it’s going to pay you like a business.’ I’d been treating it as a hobby. I wasn’t treating myself as a professional fighter.’”
He also had this to say about his current weight situation:
“Yeah, I am at 202 right now,” he says. “My whole outlook on everything has changed. I am serious about this stuff now. It’s my diet, and my strength and conditioning coach, the 2004 Judo Olympian Rhadi Ferguson, it’s everything. It’s going to be bad for the 205ers, man. Bad. News.”
Since Vera is going to have to go up to 205, could you imagine if he went down to 185? With his size, you would have to think that he would automatically be placed in the chase to fight Anderson Silva. I wouldn't have thought that was feasible six months ago, but that could be an amazing matchup if Vera ever decided to cut down further.
Vera has proven in the past that he can be a force in the UFC and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for "The Truth" now that he's got weight-cutting down to a science.
Lloyd Irvin, Family, and Brandon Vera Attacked by Two Armed Gunmen
From BloodyElbow.com:
Speaking exclusively to BloodyElbow.com, world champion grappler Lloyd Irvin said his home in Accokeek, Maryland was invaded by two armed gunman on Saturday morning at approximately 4:30am.
According to Irvin, the two gunman held Irvin, his son, wife and UFC light heavyweight contender Brandon Vera at gun point while demanding to be directed towards valuables like cash or jewelry.
While one gunman held Irvin's family hostage, another gunman directed Irvin to the the master bedroom. According to Irvin, he led the gunman toward his bedroom. Once in the bedroom, Irvin said he noticed the other gunman was far enough away down the hall to make a move to disarm the attacker in his bedroom. Irvin, an expert in Sambo defensive gun and knife techniques, was able to get ahold of the gun in the attacker's hands, first separating the clip from the gun and then removing the gun from the attacker's hands.
According to Irvin, no one in his family was physically hurt, although the psychological trauma at this point is considerable.
While Vera is physically unharmed, leaving for England this Tuesday and will continue training...
This could definitely affect Vera going into his fight against Keith Jardine at UFC 89. It is great that no one was harmed, but the lasting psychological damage could definitely impair him during his fight even if it's not quantifiable.
