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BRANDON VERA LIKELY OUT UNTIL MAY Friday, January 11, 2008 - by Tom Hamlin - MMAWeekly.com
Brandon Vera has watched the tape over and over again. It’s the first exchange of the fight. He steps forward with a jab, meets Tim Sylvia’s oncoming face, and slides into the clinch.
“My thumb got caught and pulled back like a banana,” he says.
It was a trivial shot, but it quickly derailed him. He thought it was dislocated and tried to re-set the thumb mid-fight.
“I held my breath and pulled it real hard and it didn’t go back in,” he continues. “I finished the first round, went back to my coaches, who were like ‘(expletive) your left hand, you don’t need it! Use your right hand.’ I was like cool, I won’t use my left hand.”
Vera had broken his scaphoid, a cashew-sized bone that keeps the thumb from bending too far towards the wrist.
The searing pain in his digit prevented him from putting together any combinations, which prevented him from letting his kicks fly freely. He felt like a lame duck.
“I wanted to punch Tim so hard,” he says. “I should have just kept touching and moving, instead of trying to light him up early. He started hitting me; I couldn’t hit him back. I started throwing short elbows to try and catch him on his way in. I sucked. That was one of the most boring fights ever. I’m ashamed to have been a part of it.”
Vera wanted surgery immediately. His doctor told him he might have to stabilize the hand with a screw. When he woke up from the procedure, he had three.
The UFC wanted Vera to fight on its March 1 card in Columbus, Ohio, but he says May is the earliest he could re-emerge.
“The weekend after the fight, I still couldn’t pick up a plate of food,” he says. “We’re hoping for the best. I wish they would put me with Tim again, but it looks like I’m going to climb up the ladder again. I don’t care who they put me with, I’m banging. I’ll make sure not to punch so hard in the beginning; I’ll make sure I use up all the rounds.”
In the mean time, Vera makes the nine-mile bike ride every day to his Chula Vista gym, Alliance MMA, teaching classes to eager students. He works on the things he can. At home, he distracts himself with remote control racecars, watching his dog chase them around the house.
When asked about his thoughts on the upcoming heavyweight title fight between Silva and Minotauro Nogueira, he’s hesitant to talk about it. It still upsets him.
“It’s really hard to look at,” he says. “Coulda, shoulda, woulda been me, so it sucks.”
Vera is 30 and has five fights left on his UFC contract, so father time isn’t exactly knocking on his door, but like his previous layoff from the Octagon, the fight with Sylvia has been a forced lesson in patience.
MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS
-Chuck Liddell: $500,000 (20th fight in UFC; defeated Wanderlei Silva; no win bonus)
-Georges St-Pierre: $160,000 (11th; defeated Matt Hughes; includes win bonus of $80,000)
-Wanderlei Silva: $150,000 (4th fight in UFC; lost to Chuck Liddell; no win bonus)
-Matt Hughes: $100,000 (19th fight in UFC; lost to Georges St-Pierre; win bonus would have been $100,000)
MAIN CARD FIGHTERS
-Lyoto Machida: $60,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou; includes win bonus of $30,000)
-Eddie Sanchez: $46,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Soa Palelei; includes win bonus of $23,000)
-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: $40,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Lyoto Machida; win bonus would have been $40,000)
-Rich Clementi: $28,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Melvin Guillard; includes win bonus of $14,000)
-Melvin Guillard: $10,000 (6th fight in UFC; lost to Rich Clementi; win bonus would have been $10,000)
-Soa Palelei: $5,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Eddie Sanchez; win bonus would have been $5,000)
PRELIMINARY MATCH FIGHTERS
-Dean Lister: $22,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Jordan Radev; includes win bonus of $11,000)
-Manny Gamburyan: $20,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Nate Mohr; includes win bonus of $10,000)
-James Irvin: $16,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Luis Cane; includes win bonus of $8,000)
-Roan Carneiro: $10,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Tony DeSouza; includes win bonus of $5,000)
-Tony DeSouza: $7,000 (6th fight in UFC; lost to Roan Carneiro; win bonus would have been $7,000)
-Mark Bocek: $6,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Doug Evans; includes win bonus of $3,000)
-Nate Mohr: $6,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Manny Gamburyan; win bonus would have been $6,000)
-Luis Cane: $5,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to James Irvin; win bonus would have been $5,000)
-Jordan Radev: $5,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Dean Lister; win bonus would have been $5,000)
-Doug Evans: $3,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Mark Bocek; win bonus would have been $3,000)
DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $1,199,000
XTREME COUTURE CAMP REPORT Saturday, January 05, 2008 - by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com
After building one of the most impressive teams of fighters in the world, Xtreme Couture closed out 2007 with a combined record of 59-14 in its first full year of operations. Now it looks forward to an even more successful 2008 with many of its members gearing up for a huge year ahead.
FORREST GRIFFIN PREPARES FOR TUF 7; MIKE PYLE ON AS COACH
The Ultimate Fighting Championship recently announced Forrest Griffin and UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as coaches for the seventh installment of the Ultimate Fighter. Now Griffin is gearing up for filming and a match-up with Jackson later this year.
One of Griffin’s coaches on the new season of the show will be former EliteXC welterweight Mike Pyle, who is known throughout Xtreme Couture as one of the toughest training partners and best instructors in the business.
Pyle will also be seen back in action soon, competing for Hardcore Championship Fighting in Canada. He faces Damir Mirenic in a middleweight match-up. John Alessio will also be featured on the same card taking on Derrick Noble.
JAY HIERON WINS IFL GOLD
At the International Fight League’s year-end show, Jay Hieron defeated Delson Heleno to become the first ever IFL welterweight champion.
Hieron is currently celebrating his win with friends and family on Long Island in New York. On the Xtreme Couture website blog, they will debut a new feature entitled “The Life and Times of Jay Hieron,” which will be an ongoing series following his life.
XTREME COUTURE FIGHTERS IN THE OCTAGON
Many of the top fighters from Xtreme Couture are preparing for upcoming bouts in the UFC, including Kendall Grove who will face off against veteran fighter Jorge Rivera, while Canadian Sam Stout will step in to fight Per Eklund at lightweight.
Tyson Griffin and Gray Maynard have traveled to Big Bear, Calif. to help friend Joe “Daddy” Stevenson in preparation for his upcoming lightweight title fight against B.J. Penn at UFC 80.
Both Griffin and Maynard are gearing up for their own respective fights, as Tyson will face Gleison Tibau at UFC 81 in February and Maynard faces Dennis Siver at the UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 23 in Las Vegas.
HEAVYWEIGHTS BUILDING AT XTREME COUTURE
Former Pride and Cage Rage heavyweight James “Colossus” Thompson recently joined Xtreme Couture and while he is currently home in England, he will be returning to the camp in Las Vegas soon and preparing for a scheduled bout on the next EliteXC card.
Jay White has also stepped up his training. With Randy Couture in his corner, he won his debut fight for HDNet Fights submitting Patrick Castillo in the first round of their match-up.
NEWS & NOTES FROM XTREME COUTURE
Xtreme Couture fighters have been seen in commentating roles lately as Phil Baroni worked color commentary for the IFO show on Dec. 28 and Frank Trigg was featured as color commentator for the HDNet broadcast of the Yarennoka show in Japan.
The Hollywood bug has also bitten many Xtreme Couture fighters, as Forrest Griffin was featured on Law & Order recently and now Mike Pyle, Stephan Bonnar, and Gray Maynard have all accepted roles in feature films.
Gina Carano is in Los Angeles currently filming the new season of American Gladiators, where she will appear as a gladiator named “Crush.”
Phil Friedman will return to action for his second MMA fight very soon, either for the IFO or Tuff-E-Nuff in February.
Mark Hominick recently picked up a win in the TKO promotion in Canada and will be heading back to the training camp in Las Vegas soon.
Elena “Baby Doll” Reid won her MMA debut in the IFO in December, while Dennis Davis defeated American Top Team fighter Reynaldo Duarte on the same card.
This is just for the bragging rights - maybe somewhere down the line, we'll make a contest out of it with big prize. Who do you think would win in UFC 80? B.J. Penn v Joe Stevenson
Gabriel Gonzaga v Fabricio Werdum
Jess Liaudin v Marcus Davis
Wilson Gouveia v Jason Lambert
Jorge Rivera v Kendall Grove
Antoni Hardonk v Colin Robinson
Paul Kelly v Paul Taylor
James Lee v Alessio Sakara
Per Eklund v Sam Stout
LAS VEGAS – It was a chilly night in Sin City, but the
action was white hot in The Pearl at the Palms Hotel & Casino where
Roger Huerta made the move from over-hyped Sports Illustrated cover boy
to iron-clad Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight contender.
Clearly
the fight of the night, Huerta and Clay Guida fought one of the highest
paced, most dynamic battles of the year. This fight was everything and
more that the hype promised.
Guida appeared poised on the brink
of victory as he dropped Huerta to his back in the second round, but
somehow Huerta dug deep into his heart and found a way to survive. Then
in the third round, Huerta shifted gears, yet again, rocked Guida and
then took his back and clamped down the fight-ending rear naked choke.
Huerta
was clearly overwhelmed with emotion after the fight, thanking God and
his mother before declaring, “I want to bring the UFC to Mexico.”
The
Ultimate Fighter welterweight finale went pretty much as expected, with
the bigger Tommy Speer trying to utilize his size and strength, while
Mac Danzig went for skill and technique. In short order, it was Danzig
that took Speer to the ground and quickly transitioned to his back to
sink in a rear naked choke.
Leading up to the finale, Danzig
made no bones about why he signed up for the hit reality series. He
wanted to win it all and build up his name to the legions of mixed
martial arts fans around the world. He easily did that on Saturday
night.
“I was really nervous going into this fight with Tommy,”
said Danzig after the fight, although it didn’t show in his performance.
Asked
if he would now drop back down to his usual weight of 155 pounds, the
new Ultimate Fighter winner stated, “Absolutely. I’m really happy about
jumping in the mix with (Roger Huerta and Clay Guida).”
In an
amazing battle of wills, John Koppenhaver and Jared Rollins bloodied
each other near the end of the first round, trading elbows on the
ground, and commenced to fight a see-saw battle of wills.
As
both fighters were cloaked in crimson, Rollins looked like he would end
it with a succession of brutal knees, but Koppenhaver was able to
reverse position on the ground and put Rollins out with a fight-ending
ground and pound assault.
“I didn’t want to have to fight him
tonight,” said Koppenhaver in tears after the fight. “I love him man.
He’s a tough, tough dude.”
A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt
under the Machados, George Sotiropoulus, now training with UFC
welterweight champion Matt Serra, wasted no time getting Billy Miles to
the ground. Once there, he fixed himself on Miles’ back, locking in the
rear naked choke at 1:36 of round one.
“I knew that was his
weakness,” said Sotiropoulus of Miles’ ground game. “I knew once it was
on the ground it was going to be over.”
In the opening bout of
the live telecast on Spike TV, Dan Barrera and Ben Saunders fought a
fairly close back-and-forth affair early with Barrera trying to employ
a ground and pound attack, while Saunders went for the submissions. As
the fight progressed, Saunders took over and earned the unanimous
decision.
In the final preliminary bout, Troy Mandaloniz and
Richie Hightower gave fans an exciting slugfest. Hightower took charge
in the first half of the first round, landing some wide punches, along
with a succession of forearms and knees. But in the end, it was
Mandaloniz that caught Hightower walking into a stiff left jab,
dropping him to the mat, and then finishing him off with a couple of
hammerfists for the TKO.
Unable to compete in the semi-final
round due to injury, Matt Arroyo made up for it with by putting on a
submission clinic at the expense of John Kolosci at Saturday’s finale.
He attempted several submissions, finally finishing Kolosci with an
armbar late in the first round.
Roman Mitichyan’s fight in the
finale was even more short-lived than his injury prone stint during the
regular season, albeit this time in his favor. He immediately took
Dorian Price to the mat and dropped into a straight ankle lock that had
Price tapping almost immediately.
In the event’s opening bout,
Paul Georgieff knocked Jonathan Goulet down with a left hook about
halfway through round one, but it was Goulet that would call upon the
depth of his experience to put the fight away. After going down, he
grabbed Georgieff’s legs and put him on his back. The Canadian then
transitioned through various positions to Georgieff’s back and locked
on a rear naked choke, causing him to pass out.
Roger Huerta def. Clay Guida by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:51, R3
Mac Danzig def. Tommy Speer by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:01, R1
John Koppenhaver def. Jared Rollins by TKO (Strikes) at 2:01, R3
George Sotiropoulos def. Billy Miles by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:36, R1
Ben Saunders def. Dan Barrera by Unanimous Decision, R3
Troy Mandaloniz def. Richie Hightower by TKO (Strikes) at 4:20, R1
Matt Arroyo def. John Kolosci by Submission (Armbar) at 4:42, R1
Roman Mitichyan def. Dorian Price by Submission (Ankle Lock) at 0:23, R1
Jonathan Goulet def. Paul Georgieff by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:42, R1
You've seen the news that went back and forth between Randy and UFC. There seems to be some tension after Randy has been with UFC for a very long time and he's been inducted into Hall of Fame, currently holds the Heavyweight championship belt. And yet, he feels dissed by UFC and finally resigned. What do you think happened and who's telling the truth? As with anything, I think the truth lies somewhere in between. UFC claims they've treated Randy right. Even had proof of payments to dispute what Randy claimed was his payout from UFC. Some sources say Randy feels he's not shown enough respect (or money) when UFC tried to pay Fedor more money than they've ever offered to Randy, who helped build UFC where it is today. From UFC's point of view, they were trying to pay whatever it takes to get the best heavyweight in the world, while Randy was already under contract. Why should Randy get upset someone else is getting a new contract while he's serving out what he volunteered signed earlier this year? In my opinion, UFC has plenty of money now and they are just not sharing it equally with fighters. Yes, they pay six figures to top fighters but only a handful. The others pretty much get peanuts, even though they still have to train for weeks to prepare for the fight and the payout isn't enough for these guys to train full time. Bottomline, Pay up, UFC.
UFC 79 play by play results will be posted here during the UFC PPV.
UFC 79: DECEMBER 29, 2007 IN LAS VEGAS
venue: Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada
-Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes
-Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Lyoto Machida
-Dean Lister vs. Jordan Radev
-Manny Gamburyan vs. Nate Mohr
-Rich Clementi vs. Melvin Guillard
-Roan Carneiro vs. Tony DeSouza
-Doug Evans vs. Mark Bocek
-Eddie Sanchez vs. Soa Palalei
UFC has recently announced that Dan Henderson, who recently lost to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the light heavyweight devision will drop down to 185lbs to fight the current middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Anderson Silva, who made his first debut in the UFC with 49 second Knock Out of Chris Leben has dominated all 5 of his UFC fights - finishing all of them with only 2 of them lasting into the second round. Dan Henderson is a former Pride 185lbs division winner and can really fight at both middle weight and the light heavyweight. In fact, he was the first one to hold the title at both weight division. He was hoping to be the first one to hold both Pride and UFC belts, but unfortunately he lost the decision to Jackson, a close friend. Enter Yushin Okami. He just signed an extension with UFC. He is the last one to have a disqualification win over Anderson Silva. Silva was disqualified for kneeing the downed opponent. Up to that point, Silva was winning the fight. Yushin has also been impressive with all his UFC fights, going 5-1 with his only loss coming to the former middleweight champion Rich Franklin. He almost pulled off a win at the end of the third round with a kimura but Rich barely escaped with the unanimous decision win. I think Yushin would be the next in line at the title shot.
RESULTS:
–Rashad Evans def. Michael Bisping by Split Decision, R3
–Thiago Silva def. Houston Alexander by TKO (Strikes) at 3:25, R1
–Karo Parisyan def. Ryo Chonan by Unanimous Decision, R3
–Ed Herman def. Joe Doerksen by KO (Punch) at 0:39, R3
–Frankie Edgar def. Spencer Fisher by Unanimous Decision, R3
–Thiago Alves def. Chris Lytle by TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage) at 5:00, R2
–Joe Lauzon def. Jason Reinhardt by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:14, R1
–Marcus Aurelio def. Luke Caudillo by TKO (Strikes) at 4:29, R1
–Akihiro Gono def. Tamdan McCrory by Submission (Armbar) at 3:19, R2
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