Article by Sherdog.com Staff
After a strong start to his UFC career, Brandon Vera’s struggles the last couple of years led to questions about his heart.

He believes he answered them Saturday, however, when he survived a brutal armbar to outpoint Eliot Marshall in their matchup at UFC 137.

“My coaches were super excited the fight went like that,” Vera told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show.” “A lot of people have been questioning what would Brandon Vera do in a situation like that. Well, you found out. I would let my arm break. I’ll let it rip and tear and then come back and fight some more. I’m not going to say I’m glad I hurt my arm, but I’m glad that people got to see it. People got to experience that with me.”

Vera had won the first and second rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. The fight turned in the third, though, when Marshall rocked him on the feet.

“I guess I got a little bit too relaxed, and he caught me with a good shot, the one I didn’t see,” Vera said. “I just remember thinking … ‘There’s no way, no way, no way I’m going out like this.’ I grabbed a single leg and just stuck through it. I was busy at least three more minutes of that round.”

Marshall was busy too. He locked up the armbar in what Vera called a perfect position because the cage made it difficult for Vera to defend.

“When my arm was straight and it locked out, I was like, ‘Well, I’m not going to tap, so we need to figure this out,’” Vera said. “Then I just turned my thumb over. As soon as I turned my thumb, Eliot took it home. He took the arm with him. I felt my ligaments tear. As soon as it tore, my arm went flat onto his stomach. When it was on his stomach, there was no more pulling. He couldn’t pull to hurt it anymore. I just kept [pulling] my arm out, flipped over to my knees and kept pulling, pulling, pulling … . We were basically playing tug of war with my arm.”

Vera escaped, earning his first UFC win since August 2009. He’s hoping his show of heart will get him back on track heading into what he believes will be a big 2012.

“I’ve never been rocked like that before,” Vera said. “I’ve never been in a submission before, I don’t think. Yeah. I got both of them in one night, hardcore. For me to be able to step up to the plate and come through it — there was for sure some questions in my mind and I did it. I think you can judge a fighter’s character a lot by their performance when you get to see something like that.”

One of a kind futuristic soda machine presented by UFC Fighter Brandon “The Truth” Vera

MMA:30 traveled with The Gun Store and six UFC fighters from Las Vegas to St George, Utah to visit the troubled teens at Liahona Academy. Brandon Vera, Phil Davis, Dan Hardy, Brad Tavares, and Frank Mir talked with the teens about making tough decisions in life, reaching their goals and what it’s like working with coaches in MMA. Check out more videos at mma30.com

Alliance MMA Gym How To Juice with Brandon Vera, Dominick Cruz and Team Lloyd Irvin
Video edited by: The Crank Effect

UFC Fighter Brandon Vera Holding Mitts For UFC Fighter Ross Pearson At Alliance Training Center in San Diego

Click Here To Try Out Our Muay Thai Training For 30 DAYS FREE!!!

Brandon “THE TRUTH” Vera Challenge: See Who Wins The 46 Inch Flatscreen TV!!!

For more info on the Brandon “THE TRUTH” Vera Challenge CLICK HERE

Click Here To Try Out Our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu BJJ Training For 30 DAYS FREE!!!

Brandon Vera at Compound In Sweden For Seminar
“This Is Amazing, We’re Over Here In The Country Side”

Click Here To Try Out Our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu BJJ Training For 30 DAYS FREE!!!

Brandon Vera Body By Vi – 90 DAY CHALLENGE

RAFFLES & PRIZES!!!

BRING YOUR FRIENDS! Everyone That Registers Will Win A Chance At Winning A FLAT SCREEN TV, TATTO by Kuya, & Other Prizes At The End Of The Event!

Join The Challenge!
Feb 27th, 7:00PM At Alliance Training Center
795 3rd Avenue, Chula Vista 91910
For More Information Email VeraChallenge@gmail.com

Brandon Vera talks about what happened with his UFC MMA Fight against Thiago Silva.

Start working toward your fitness goals with today’s offer from Alliance Training Center: $20 for 20 group classes, a $400 value! This is a limited time offer so don’t miss out.

Click here to sign up NOW!

San Diego, CA – Mixed Martial Arts in San Diego has come a long way. From Total Combat to UFC, San Diego has yet to have a shortage of great fighters. And with all the recognition and praise this city receives for its MMA, it’s hard to imagine “What’s next for this MMA Community?”

So what is next you ask? How about a SEVEN Mixed Martial Arts Awards for the City of San Diego!

Alliance Training Center has been nominated for SEVEN Fighters Only: World MMA Awards! Yes you read correctly, SEVEN Nominations. This is the only Team in the World to ever be nominated for SEVEN MMA Awards! These awards will definitely help place San Diego where it should be, at the top of Mixed Martial Arts.

But first we need your help to win these awards, it will take a great effort because the competition is very stiff, voting has already started and there is not that much time left. So make sure you cast your votes NOW and share this with all your friends and family!

The Nominations and criteria are as follows:

The Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Fighter of the Year: Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz
Awarded to the leading male mixed martial artist for his contribution to the sport and the success he has achieved throughout the year both inside and outside the octagon. Click Here To Cast Your Votes NOW!

Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis
Awarded to the fighter who has had a rapid and meteoric impact on the elite level of the sport. A true superstar of the future, an athlete who has risen in status within his/her weight class and profile within the sport. Click Here To Cast Your Votes NOW!

International Fighter of the Year: Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson
Awarded to the leading mixed martial artist from outside of the Americas for his/her contribution to the sport and successes both inside and outside of the cage. Click Here To Cast Your Votes NOW!

Coach of the Year: Eric Del Fierro
Awarded to the most successful coach working in top-level mixed martial arts. Click Here To Cast Your Votes NOW!

Gym of the Year: Alliance Training Center
Awarded to the gym that has not only enjoyed great success inside the cage, but has also helped to develop the sport of MMA outside of the elite level. Click Here To Cast Your Votes NOW!

Fight of the Year: Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz vs Urijah “The California Kid” Faber UFC 132
Awarded to the two fighters involved in the most exciting fight staged during the year. Whether it be a stand up slugfest, a technical chess match or a thrilling spectacle voters should vote on merit and entertainment factors. Click Here To Cast Your Votes NOW!

Submission of the Year: Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis – Philmura aka Wonderbar
Awarded to the fighter who scored the most technical and/or slickest submission victory of the year. Click Here To Cast Your Votes NOW!

Bring Your Kids To Alliance Training Center!
Space is LIMITED Call Us TODAY!
(619) 425-0888

Ages available:
Minis (age 5-7)
Jrs. (age 7-12)
Teens (age 12-17)

Saturday Nov. 5th at 12:00PM – All ages welcomed! Various Items to be auctioned. Food, Beverages, Music, Autograph Signings. Guest appearences by UFC Athletes! ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO DANIEL “DAE DAE” RHODES.
At:
Alliance Training Center
795 Third Ave.
Chula Vista, CA 91910
(619) 425-0888

Watch and support Brandon Vera as he faces off against Elliot Marshall
UFC: Ultimate Fighting Championship 137 Live Facebook Fights Streams Today at 3:15/6:15pm PT/ET
CLICK HERE TO WATCH NOW!

Come watch the UFC fights for Free tonight at Eastbound Bar in Lakeside, CA. Also going on is a live band and a Pirate Costume party. Dress up or at least show up. Come hungry and thirsty. Support Brandon “The Truth” Vera. See you there!

Eastbound Bar & Grill
1.619.334.2566
10053 Maine Ave, Lakeside, CA 92040

by Brian Hemminger

Brandon Vera knows what it feels like, even briefly to be unemployed from the UFC.

And it sucks.

The former top ranked prospect had received his walking papers after three consecutive losses in the UFC light heavyweight division but received a saving grace when his last opponent, Thiago Silva , submitted inhuman urine during his drug screening. He was instantly invited back into the world’s top MMA promotion.

But the sting of those losses still resonates with “The Truth.”

The Alliance Training Center product spoke with MMAmania.com about special changes he’s made for his upcoming UFC 137 fight with Eliot Marshall , getting back to his old “killer” self and what he’d do to Thiago Silva if he saw him again.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): This is basically a second chance for you and I know you’ve talked about how you’re not even writing a new chapter, you’re trying to write a whole new book for your career. Can you talk about making the most of this opportunity you’ve been given?

Brandon Vera: Making the most of it, I can’t even describe it man. Training three times a day and enjoying training again, understanding that this is my life. It was not natural to me for a while, I lost it. I lost my life even if was for 3-5 days, I don’t know how long I was cut from the UFC, I really honestly don’t remember how long I was cut from the UFC before I got the call back but from losing to getting it back, I understand that I don’t want to be out of the UFC. I am doing everything, everything in my power, traveling, training, paying attention, watching tapes, listening to my coaches just to make sure that I am getting back on my path of getting that title belt.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): You mentioned the traveling part. You’ve talked about how you didn’t feel like you had the right mindset for a while and during this most recent 8500 mile road trip where you were doing seminars, I heard you found yourself while on that trip. Can you talk about that?

Brandon Vera: Yeah, you know it was just interacting with the students and other people and watching people smile, talking to me and being out with the public again I guess. It helped me grow, seeing how much people want me to win, people asking me, “What happened, what went wrong?” I didn’t really have an answer for them until it just dawned on me one day that MMA wasn’t important, it stopped being important for a while. I don’t know why. I don’t know when. I’m pretty sure there was a time frame but I don’t know why and all of a sudden it went to number three on the list instead of number one and it needs to be number one.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): I even saw something about a specific instant where you saw a kid just absorbing everything you were teaching and applying it better than the adults. Can you tell me about seeing that and the impact it had on you?

Brandon Vera: I think he was 11 years old and every time I showed something, he got it before all the adults. There was maybe a couple times where some of the pro fighters got it before he did but the rest of the time he was on point, he was just enjoying the seminar so much and just watching him training and watching him learn like that made me smile so big and bright. I was like, “Man, that’s what I missed! I missed learning stuff and the reason why I stopped learning stuff was because I stopped traveling.” If you want to be the greatest chef in the world, you can’t stay in one kitchen. You have to travel. You always have your home, you always have your stable but if you want to learn other stuff and you want to grow, you have to travel and bring it back home and show the rest of the team, figure it out and tweak it. That’s what I wasn’t doing so I was being a detriment to myself and to Alliance MMA.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): Obviously you are still a member of Alliance, that’s your home but you’ve branched out for this camp. I saw you moved out to Maryland to work with Lloyd Irvin again. Can you tell me about hooking up with your original Muay Thai coach, the one that you were working with when you were laying waste to people?

Brandon Vera: My very, very, very, very first Muay Thai coach, Brad, I got to work with him and just tweak a couple of things and talk to him about my style and try to change some things up. He’s got some new fighters at his gym and I was getting to work with them and move around and I got to try some new stuff, add some new things and fix some old stuff.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): That’s not the only thing you’ve been doing that’s new, I saw you were working with your Alma Mater, the Old Dominion wrestling team. That’s got to be a nice benefit as well, right?

Brandon Vera: That was amazing. Wrestling with the OD guys? Yeah. Coach Steve Martin over there and those guys are amazing. The whole OD wrestling team, those guys aren’t getting paid. They’re just trying to go to school for free you know? They’re just trying to make the team, they just want to get a spot on the team, the starting position so those guys were all hungry and they brought it back. They helped put stuff back in perspective for me as well. I got to hang out with them, I got to watch a UFC fight with them and it was awesome. They’re a great group of guys and they also work super hard.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): I lastly saw some of the work you’ve been putting in with boxing coach Troy Fox. It looked like you were, at least from the video I saw, it looked like you were really working those body shots. Is that something you want to really add to your game or is it just one of the little things that you’ve been working to complete the puzzle?

Brandon Vera: It was one of the little things, but I definitely for sure want to hit people in the body more. If they want to shoot in on me or be close to me, I want to make them pay so I’m gonna start tearing up people’s bodies hard.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): That’s what people have been trying to do to you in your last three fights. You had Randy Couture clinching you against the cage, there was Jon Jones taking you down and most recently Thiago Silva was on top of you for three rounds. Is that a focus of yours now to punish the guys that want to try to take away your striking weapons?

Brandon Vera: Yeah nobody wants to stay with me on the feet no more. (laughs) I laugh about it every time I say it. Nobody wants to fight me on the feet. All these people are supposed to be murderers on the feet. What happened? What happened? I want to find out what it’s like on the feet first but I get it now. I’m gonna have to stuff their takedown attempts and get them off me so that’s for sure what we’ve been working back into my gameplan. Make people stand with you. If you want to stand with people, I can’t let them do it for me, I’ve got to make them stand with me so that’s what we’re doing. I’m gonna make people stand with me. I’m gonna give them no hope for taking me down and if they do take me down, I want to go right back up, piss them off so bad like, “Oh my god, now I have to stand with this guy?” Yes, yes you do.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): Have you looked to any fighters that use that style, to keep a fight standing because they’re so good at striking as an example for you?

Brandon Vera: You know, honestly? Old school Chuck [Liddell]. Old school Chuck, if you took him down, he’d pop right back to his feet or if you moved while you were on top of Chuck he was for sure going to get right back to his feet. That was his whole goal, to get back to his feet and he was one of the best at it when he was in his prime, that’s what he would do. Chuck was gonna beat you up on the feet and if you didn’t want to stand with him, you’d take him down and before you knew it he was right back to his feet and punching you in the face.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): Going back to the last three opponents trying to take you down or put you in the clinch, Eliot Marshall is in a similar vein. He’s a type of fighter that may stand for a little bit but he wants to get up close and personal just like those guys. Do you feel like all this extra work you’ve put in is gearing you up nearly perfectly for a fighter like Marshall?

Brandon Vera: Yeah, I geared this whole camp towards the last three fighters. Everyone’s gonna try to take me down now so, Eliot’s gameplan is gonna be exactly like the rest of the guys and that’s what we trained for. I need to get in my thick-ass head, I think it finally went through that this is the gameplan that we’ve been working on and this is the plan we need to stick with for a while.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): Can you talk about being on the undercard for this fight? They’ve promoted a couple fights from the undercard to the main card but they didn’t pick yours. Do you feel less pressure, does it almost feel good that the spotlight isn’t on you for this fight?

Brandon Vera: Maybe, I haven’t really even thought about that. I look at it like, I’m on the undercard because I put myself there. The UFC’s not punishing me, this is just exactly where I ended up because I haven’t been doing my job. I need to get back on the main card. That’s how I look at it.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): Can you talk about what motivates you a bit? I know you wanted to be one of the best in the world.

Brandon Vera: I do. I want to be the best in the world again. Every time I see Jon Jones fight, I see the top 10 guys fight, it eats at me. I’m glad it’s eating at me again. Before, it didn’t bother me for a while. Now it does because I want to be one of the best in the world, one of the greatest ever and I for sure have been doing my job to get there.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): Is there also motivation like, almost negative motivation, like you don’t want to be that cautionary tale, the guy that had it all, was a top prospect and people would one day tell a prospect, “Don’t be a Brandon Vera.” Is that motivation to you as well?

Brandon Vera: Yeah, I don’t want to be that guy at all. That story would suck ass. (laughs) I for sure don’t want to be that guy.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): I saw you did this exercise presentation with TRX at the UFC expo in Houston earlier this month. Is that something you’ve added to your training as well recently?

Brandon Vera: For sure. I’ve been on my TRX every day, about 5-10 minutes every day and my body just feels different. I’ve been able to keep all my muscle, I haven’t been losing my muscle with my weight cut and I feel good too. My coaches are super-excited with the results as well. Usually my coaches tell me, “Don’t do this, don’t do that,” but they actually adjusted my workouts so I could use TRX every day. It works out all my major muscle groups and I still get my training in. It’s nice man. It was nice to be able to use that this whole camp. You’ll see at the weigh-ins. I’m for sure not going to be skinny.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): I think that’s something people noticed at 205, you were almost drawn out a bit, like really skinny.

Brandon Vera: Yeah, I was able to add some good carbohydrates to my diet this camp too. White rice, I was able to eat white rice again. All these nutritionists can kiss my ass because I’m eating white rice this camp. (laughs)

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): Do you harbor any resentment towards Thiago Silva for the way he acted in the fight and of course for the steroids?

Brandon Vera: If I saw him right now I would kick him in the nuts for sure. I don’t like that guy. I don’t care for him.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): (laughs) That’s the line of the interview right there. Okay, when you originally came to the UFC, you were just destroying people in a minute and you’ve talked about how you went to that mindset where winning was more important than just beating people up and finishing them. I know you mentioned you wanted to change that mindset, you wanted to get back to being a killer again. Can you tell me about that?

Brandon Vera: I want to go in there and fight. I’ve gotten to watch enough fights in the UFC where people are just trying to win and they’re so boring, man. I just don’t want to be that guy anymore. Plus, watching and learning, I’ve learned that I don’t want to be that guy.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com ): I know you’ve talked about how you have a post-fight speech prepared for when you’re done with Eliot Marshall, but before that you’ve got to have the fight. How would you like to have the fight play out against Marshall on Saturday night?

Brandon Vera: I want him to quit. I want him to stop. I either want to knock him out or make him stop fighting me either by tapping out or not answering the bell or just quitting.

Brandon would like to thank TRX, the ODU wrestling team, coach Steve Martin, Team Lloyd Irvin, Alliance Training Center, Hybrid Academy in Virginia Beach and everybody else who’s helped him along the way and helped him find himself for this fight.

Alliance MMA interview is on at 3:00 minutes!

Bleacher Report met up with the team from Alliance MMA gym to talk about its beginnings, seven World MMA nominations and how Alliance gym has affected their careers.

Reporting for Fist-ta-Cuff Radio and ProMMAnow.com, Isaac Guzman was at the recent Grand Opening of Alliance Training Center East in El Cajon, Calif., and caught up with UFC light heavyweight Brandon “The Truth” Vera.

Vera discusses the recent partnership between the UFC and FOX Sports and the impact it will have on the sport and the fighters. Vera’s next bout will be on Oct. 29 at UFC 137 against Eliot Marshall. Headlining the card is a welterweight title bout between Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz.

Vera shares his thoughts on the main event and feels if anyone can test GSP it is going to be Diaz. “GSP doesn’t like to get hit at all,” says Vera, and if he takes Diaz to the ground he questions what the champ will be able to do because Diaz is so good on the ground. He says if Diaz is the underdog, he will put money on him.

Vera also describes his own straightforward game plan against Marshall. “The Truth” says the plan is always to “Whip his ass.” Vera says his wife Kerry should be back in action at the beginning of next year, and he talks about Team Lloyd Irvin’s Mike “The Hulk” Easton making his UFC debut on the same card as his teammate Dominick Cruz.

Phil Davis, Dominick Cruz, Travis Browne, Ross Pearson, Alexander Gustafsson & Brandon Vera Will Be Signing At Marine Core Air Station Miramar this Thursday from 11am-2pm for Military Appreciation Day!

Don’t forget to check out our Military Discounts! Click here for more information.

Brought to you by Alliance Training Center’s Power Fitness, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, & Muay Thay Classes
Power Fitness Bootcamp Training for 1 Week FREE! Click here for more info.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Training for 30 Days FREE! Click here for more info.
Muay Thai Training for 30 days FREE! Click here for more info.