UFC NEWS: Brandon "The Truth" Vera cut following UFC 125 loss to Thiago Silva
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC 125 marked an excellent start to 2011 for the UFC as an organization, but the same can't be said for a number of the fighters who competed on the card. Phil Baroni and Antonio McKee have already been given their walking papers, and now Brandon "The Truth" Vera can be added to the list, as FiveOuncesOfPain.com reports that he has been released by the UFC. Vera suffered a badly broken nose in his three round decision loss to Thiago Silva, his third loss in a row, and his lengthy UFC career has now come to an end. At one time early in his career, he was seen as a possible title contender in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions. He made his UFC debut with a vicious second round knockout of Fabiano Scherner, and then rattled of three straight stoppage victories in the first round. His career was on a high in the last of those three, as he destroyed former Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir in 69 seconds. A title shot was supposed to be next for Vera, but a contract dispute led to Randy Couture stepping up to take on then-Champ Tim Sylvia, and when Vera returned nearly a year after the Mir victory to finally fight Sylvia, he broke his hand early in the fight and lost a lackluster decision. A subsequent loss to Fabricio Werdum sent him down to the light heavyweight division, where he went 3-1 through his first four fights. But Vera never got that power or viciousness of his early performances back. His victories at 205 lbs. never truly impressed, and he had more lackluster performances during his run. Then, after losing a decision to Randy Couture, Vera had his face destroyed in consecutive fights to Jon Jones, and then Silva last weekend. He exits the UFC after a 7-6 career mark in the organization. Link to Original Source Article Penick's Analysis: This was another cut that was to be expected from this card. Vera looked listless and at worst like he didn't care once the fight hit the ground on Saturday. When Silva was toying with him by the end of the fight, it was clear he didn't belong in the cage with him, at least on that night. Vera's had one of the more disappointing career stories in the Octagon, as it seems immense talent has gone by the wayside and his potential was never reached. He'll have a chance to turn things around in regional shows, or perhaps in Strikeforce's light heavyweight division, but something's got to change for him going forward after getting brutalized in consecutive fights like he did.
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Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8065.shtml
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