Brandon Vera released by the UFC
Mike Chiapetta is reporting for FOX Sports that after over eight years with the world’s dominant league, Brandon Vera, 36, is no longer a UFC fighter.
Mike Chiapetta is reporting for FOX Sports that after over eight years with the world’s dominant league, Brandon Vera, 36, is no longer a UFC fighter.
Vera leaves the UFC with a record of 8-7 with one No Contest. He has won only one fight of his last six.
Early in 2011, Vera lost to Thiago Silva and was released, but when Silva failed a drug test, the UFC brought him back. He most recently lost to Ben Rothwell, but Rothwell subsequently tested positive for elevated testosterone, and was suspended. This time however, Vera and the UFC have mutually parted ways.
Vera burst upon the scene in Oct. 2005, defeating Fabiano Scherner via TKO in the first of four consecutive victories, a streak that emboldened him to infamously promise that he would hold two UFC title belts at the same time.
Vera was at one time slated to fight for the UFC heavyweight championship, but a contract dispute put his career on ice in the fall of 2006. By the time it was resolved, nearly a year had gone by, and Vera was never able to recapture his previous magic,
As a light-heavyweight, he had memorable fights with Randy Couture, Jon Jones and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Unfortunately, he lost all of them, with the defeat to Jones coming in swift and devastating fashion, resulting in three facial fractures.
