Brandon Michael Vera was born October 10, 1977. Brandon Vera is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Brandon Vera is the winner of WEC 13 Heavyweight Tournament and currently resides in San Diego, California.
Brandon Vera s first professional mixed martial arts bout was on July 6, 2002, while training under Lloyd Irvin. He won the fight, against Adam Rivera, via TKO in the first round. He fought and won another bout in 2004 before entering a World Extreme Cagefighting heavyweight tournament in 2005, where he won two bouts in one night, including a bout against The Ultimate Fighter 2's Mike Whitehead in the finals.
Brandon Vera moved to San Diego, California, on December 31, 2003, to accept a training position with City Boxing in San Diego. At City Boxing, Vera excelled as a trainer and was taken under the wing of City Boxing owner Mark Dion, who became his manager and introduced him to kickboxing great Rob Kaman. With Vera's success as a trainer and a mixed martial arts fighter, Dion gave Vera partial ownership of City Boxing.
Vera made his UFC debut at Ultimate Fight Night 2 on October 3, 2005, against Fabiano Scherner. Vera won the fight via KO mid-way through the second round. Following the Scherner bout, he faced Justin Eilers at UFC 57, winning early in the first round by knockout. At UFC 60, Vera defeated Assuerio Silva with a guillotine choke. On November 18, he needed just 69 seconds to stop ex-heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC 65 in Sacramento, California.
White had been telling the media prior to UFC 65 that the winner of the Vera-Mir fight would face the winner of the Tim Sylvia-Jeff Monson bout, which was also being held that same night, for the championship. Due to Vera's victory, which secured him a championship bout against then title-holder Tim Sylvia, but a contract dispute with the UFC forced him to be replaced by Randy Couture.
In August, the UFC announced the "return" of Vera. His first fight was at UFC 77 against Tim Sylvia, who recently lost the championship to Randy Couture. Vera lost for the first time via a unanimous decision. He also broke his left hand at 4:40 minutes into the first round.
Brandon Vera had his second loss at UFC 85 against Fabricio Werdum by TKO. The fight was controversially stopped by referee Dan Miragliotta as Werdum mounted him and performed some ground and pound. After the stoppage, Vera was upset as he felt he was defending himself effectively.
After his two recent losses, Vera moved to the light heavyweight division, facing IFL alum Reese Andy at an impromptu UFC event, UFC Fight Nights 14 on July 19, 2008, on Spike TV. He defeated Andy via unanimous decision.
Brandon Vera staged a public workout at the Mall of Asia, located in Pasay City, Philippines, which was attended by over 4,000 people. After a subsequent workout by Chuck Liddell received a similar response, UFC officials announced a UFC event would be brought to the Philippines in 2009. This event, however, never came to fruition.
At UFC 89 Vera lost to Keith Jardine via a narrow split decision. Following the fight, Vera incurred criticism for his performance since his return to the UFC having been victorious in only one of his last four fights.
A more focused Vera appeared on the preliminary card of UFC 96. It was the first time Vera wasn't on the main card since he made his debut in the UFC. He made an impressive performance against Mike Patt, showing a more aggressive and intense striking approach and stopping him via TKO (leg kicks) in the 2nd round.
Vera fought Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 102 after his original opponent, Matt Hamill, was forced to drop out due after suffering a meniscus tear while training. Vera won via unanimous decision.
Vera lost a close fight to Randy Couture via a controversial unanimous decision on November 14, 2009, in the main event at UFC 105, with the media comparing the decision to a previous UFC event (UFC 104 Machida-Rua) which prompted that MMA judging should be changed.
Vera faced Jon Jones on March 21, 2010, at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones and lost via TKO (Injury) due to an elbow by Jones, which broke Vera's face in three places.
Vera lost to Thiago Silva on January 1, 2011 at UFC 125. Vera suffered a broken nose in this bout.
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