There was talk—much of it justifiable—that a fight with Randy Couture was to be Brandon Vera’s breakout moment. In fact, Vera himself seemed to signal he understood that while past performances had left fans andprobably even UFC management a tad underwhelmed, a win over Couture could finally propel him to the elite status contender in the light heavyweight division.
But as we saw on Saturday, he didn’t win, at least not on the judges scorecards.
Yet, this video demonstrates something about Vera that has always been somewhat lacking in his career even when his talent was omnipresent: a maturity about personal responsibility to make his career happen for himself.
Despite a bitter loss and dubious, stinging decision, Vera already talks of moving forward. More importantly, he articulates critical self-reflection in realizing he could’ve had the kind of training that’s making him the best fighter he’s ever been for quite some time. That’s as much regret as it is a wake up call. He’s 32, so time is not on his side, but Vera requests a top 5 opponent for his next fight. If he gets one and is able to win a little more convincingly, the story of Brandon Vera will not be over.
There is life left in “The Truth”. I look forward to the next chapter.
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