Brandon Vera: This is my golden ticket
On Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” a fired-up Vera told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani that a nasty message left on…
On Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” a fired-up Vera told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani that a nasty message left on his Facebook page fueled the fire for his Aug. 4 bout with Rua at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
“I read one comment that stuck out a lot,” Vera said. “It burnt me. It was a good one. I don’t remember the guy’s name, I banned him from my Facebook. But he was a godsend, because since the day I read that it’s been eating at me every day. It’s a good motivator. The comment was I’m not a contender, I’m a pretender. It was good.
“I was like, ‘God, this [expletive] guy.’ And I thought about it. I started asking myself questions. Have you been doing everything you’re supposed to be doing? How much of the statement is true? The truth hurts. Sometimes you gotta look in the mirror and face your demons, man.”
“This is a golden ticket,” said Vera. ” I need this, this could almost become the defining moment of my career, through all the good, the bad and the ugly. If I do this the way I’m supposed to, the way I can, the world will start following. I’m not ready to let my story come to an end. I’m not ready to retire, I’m not ready to hang up the gloves.”