MMA HQ - Mixed Martial Arts News and Analysis

it is way to much but who can blame the guy and if he can get it then good for him.He just shouldnt burn his bridges.But if he only has one fight left ive been saying this dana should feed him to cro crop so we could see how good he is then

I think he could be running away from Cro-Cop. I wrote an article over Brandon Vera also, but I guess Dr. J had already had this one ready.

MAN VERY IS A PUNK FOR BIT*CHING THAT 200 GRAND AINT THAT MUCH MONEY…. WHAT A PUNK ……HES NUTS

[...] MMA HQ: Brandon Vera demanding too much? [...]

I found out what that “Website” means under your email. It will link you to a website by clicking the name. Pretty cool.

hey brian stick with mmahq cuz ur doing the same at ur website

Oh, I will. Dr. J has given me a chance to write for him and I plan on continuing to write for MMA-HQ. But sometimes, DR. J and I write about the same thing…like the Brandon Vera thing…and he can’t enter two stories speaking about the same thing. So this gives me a chance to publish my articles SOMEWHERE. Instead of the time and energy of a story going to waste.

In short…I’m not going anywhere. I still enjoy this website VERY much. My website has a lot of work yet to be done. But I appreciate your comments.

(At the top of my webpage, there’s a link to MMA-HQ) That way anyone who visits my website can come here. I’ll try and get things rolling…

The Wrestling Observer also reported that EliteXC offered Vera a big contract for when his UFC contract expires. The offer from Elite XC was a big money offer that included a 1.5 million dollar signing bonus according to the The Wrestling Observer.

Wow….this is all very disheartening, as a Vera fan. I have a tough time believing these numbers to be accurate. Mirko makes that kind of money for good reason, not Vera. I hope he gives an interview soon to clarify what the hell is going on, cause this is certainly NOT the way to build popularity and a strong fan base. Bottom line is…the UFC is where it’s at. They have all the power, money, and prestige. Even if Elite offers him that kind of money, they are assuming that he will be their superstar fighter and they are banking on beating out the UFC, which I doubt will happen. The UFC has too much brand recognition that is even growing by the day. When people think cage fighting or MMA they think UFC…not showtime. Eventually, if and when showtime’s Elite goes under, Vera will have to come back to the UFC..and knowing Dana White’s personality…I think he will tell him to go f**k himself.

wow..that is very hard to believe..vera is an ok fighter…why is his head so big?..i dunno i cant see anyone making such demands, even the likes of couture, arlovski, silvia, liddell, its juss does not make sense..if it is true,dana white needs to tell him to go f*ck himself right from the get go..ufc does not need anyone liek that period

NOW VERA HIS ATTITUDE OFFICALLY SUCKS

now i just want to see vera get knocked out

NOW I HOPE HE LOSES

NOONE MAKES THAT MUCH INA FIGHT EVER 7 FIGURES…. WELL MAYBE CHUCK BUT COME ON BOOOOOOOOO VERA CHOKE ON IT

They should give his last fight to Crocop. Let him get KO’d and see how much he’s worth then. I knew he wanted good money but that’s rediculous at this point in his career. Dr J is right 200 grand a fight is to much for him right now. If he was smart enough to take the contract the UFC offered and beat Silvia for the belt he would start making the money he wants but playing hard ball with Dana doesn’t work. He’s not well enough known to draw big PPV revenue or sell out crowds at shows. I think this decision will come back to haunt him. Elite has already suffered the first set back with the DQ of Frank in their first show and if their giving contracts like this I don’t know how they will survive. I liked Vera and was hoping that he would take out Tim but he is losing fans with this nonsense. At least Mirko’s in the UFC now so who needs Vera he would have been beaten anyway. The only guys I think can ask for over 200 grand a fight are Hughes, Silvia, Crocop, Ortiz(not that he’s that good he just sells fights), GSP, and maybe Arvlowski. When Elite goes under Brandon will be begging to fight for the money he is turning down. MMA doesn’t need a bunch of over paid athletes like MLB, NBA or the NFL. I hope he comes to his senses and continues to fight in the UFC he is pretty good but far from great that he must think.

hey man, if theyre offring vera over a million signing bonus, in reality.. TAKE IT MAN! lol i hear wat you guys are saying, but thats cash money talking.. If i was Vera i would take it, besides what people think about danas personality, If vera shines and goes undefeated and decides he wants to come to the UFC, im SURE dana will not say tough luck. Hes looking out for #1 man, get paid first, then worry about becoming a hall of famer.

Look at Frank Shamrock, hes a great fighter, everyone hates him, hes always gravitated to who was paying the most at the time. He made more money than most UFC champs make. Veras a good fighter, but you cant equate skill with paycheck, it would be nice! but it doesnt quite work that way in reality…

yeah i know what ur saying a mans got to eat

why would vera want to fight tougher guys, and get beat down harder, for less money? lol

I agree…give Brandon to Cro Cop and see how much he’ll take THEN.

damn dr j brian jocked ur site and has one thats close to urs but not as cool

I think that the big name fighters are all getting screwed price-wise. Every time an MMA fighter gets in the ring, he risks not being able to ever fight again, due to the severity of the injuries that can be produced, far worse than in boxing. Because Dana White has built an effective franchise monopoly, he can take all the gate money and ppv money for himself and his investors and screw the fighters. Brandon Vera is superb, and just getting better. I don’t think because Crocop looks invincible someone else should not try to get what they’re worth. There are probably a couple of dozen fighters that will draw lots of viewers. The Truth is definitely one of them. UFC makes huge bucks on him and Ortiz and Hughes and Silvia. Why shouldn’t they pay the producers (fighters) of the actual entertainment well, since they risk so much per fight? BG

The fighters deserve more, but Vera is going a little overboard. He hasn’t faught any REAL compitition since coming to the UFC.

@BG

I agree that “big name” fighters deserve more, because they bring more.

However, while I like “The Truth”, and wish him the best, we must be realistic, in that he needs some more big wins before he can expect the big bucks.

I don’t blame him for trying, but I think he made his move to soon.

Hollywood, on the other hand, is waiting too long. He needs to re-negotiate while he’s on top.

Vera needed to take his title shot at Silvia and win. If he became the HW champ then he would be worth more but he jumped the gun and now he won’t get his shot. He dosen’t deserve what Mirko was able to get because Crocop is the #2 fighter in the world. Hughes and Liddell stayed loyal and payed their dues now their rich. Dana pays back the fighters that were loyal and there from the beginning. EliteXC may give Vera a little more up front but who knows if they will even be around in a couple of years. I think he made a mistake by trying to play hard ball with Dana because that probably ended his chances of making it big in the UFC.

What fans fail to realize is that this is a business. UFC pulls in more pay per view money than Pro Wrestling and boxing combined…which is CRAZY! They don’t pay their fighters ****. Chuck gets 3 million a fight plus bonuses and Tito makes a little under that. Vera is better than Tito and it making maybe 50k a fight. Chuck is old and has maybe 3 years left. Vera can fight at 205 AND HW AND he has a fan base. And he’s already been offered millions of dollars already from another org. Who in the hell would turn down MILLIONS of dollars for maybe 800k fighting for the UFC? No one. If Dana is smart he’ll try and meet Vera in the middle. Because like it or not…Brandon is the ******* man. Chuck knows this…Rampage knows this…and Cro Cop knows this. Why do you think Cro Cop has asked to fight him before he leaves? Why? Because Cro Cop only has a 3 fight deal with the UFC and Randy Couture isn’t much of a challege for him. So before so called “fans” get upset with BV for trying to make money…look at the facts and use some common damn sense.

Vera has not beat any top level oponents to justify him making that kind of money. Once he beats guys like Crocop, Silvia, Rampage, Arlovski to be considered in the same league and payscale. I like Vera and hope he stays in the UFC but it doesn’t seem like he will.

@Jbattle

hehe i thought you were talking about me when you said BV, but i guess you meat brandon vera lol. Because my last post said the exact same thing, If someone is offering you millions, you take it man! and if elitexc is gone in 2 years, even better! you made your money while it WAS around. After that im sure Vera would have no problem getting into another organization, be it UFC or Pride or watever, as long as he goes undefeated, he will always be an mma asset.

As i said before, I would take the money now, worry about Hall of Fame later.

I know this is an old topic, but a)Cro Cop didn’t look all that hot in his recent loss - slow, sluggish, if he showed up like that to fight Vera, Vera’s speed would have won the fight, and b) how many of you who are Vera-hating actually fight/grapple/spar, anything?!? Vera has amazing talent - look at his record. He would’ve gotten a title shot, and probably beaten, Sylvia if not for the end of his contract. Many of you, not all, are taking the easy way out by attacking him for wanting money - I see it as taking care of himself and making sure he is set. You won’t get 1 mil per fight if you don’t ask. Wherever he ends up he’ll shine. I most CERTAINLY want that to be UFC. Ever since he claimed he wants both belts (hw and lhw) I’ve wanted to see him try. Bottom Line: He’s a superb fighter with natural talent and I’d hate to see the UFC lose him due to his situation.

JOHN

HE CAN FIGHT YES… BUT BRANDON VERA IS A PIECE OF **** IN MY EYES…. *** THAT GUY

ur the piece of ****..do you know any fighter that does not fight for the money..if you knew one..come here to pinas *****..there are a lot of fighters that can..break your face..including all your teeth and even your girls..*****..ayt..

-pinoythugz

I think Brandon should`nt be so greedy. He should keep fighting for whatever they offer, WHOOP some ***, then ask for the big bucks right before a title shot. I think Vera is one of the most exciting fighters right now,and he has what it takes to become champion. I think him and cro cop would be a great match up. But i would have to go with Vera.

I’ve been dying for Vera to mess up some heavyweights. I’m sick of watching the current crop of fighters including Mikro. Cro Cop was knocked out cold with his own medicine. Vera should finish his contract in the UFC and then go to pride to challenge Fedor, the best heavyweight in the world.

nate all the pride guys are going he needs to stay in the ufc

Dana is robbing these guys. Vera has proved himself. Two hundred K
per fight is a joke. Sugar Ray Lenord was getting double that in the early 80’s ( with no PPV ). I know boxings tainted and I don’t want that happening to MMA but compromise sit down work out a better contract we want to see this guy fight. Give him the 1.5 signing bonus let him fight Cro cop if he wins give him a good contract. Someone said feed him to cro cop , this is cro cop not Fedor. I would bet the farm on Vera. Some say Vera hasen’t fought any tough guys He has dismantled some very tough guys. Plus he probaly should fight 205 but is willing to do either. Top 3 Heavys = Fedor Gonzaga Vera

what about couture or gonzaga or aleksander sh*it even sylvia or arlovski vera hasnt even faught a guy close to this level so until then hes not even in my top ten

I agree with Richard. Let him fight Tim Sylvia, I have lately reflected on Tim’s career as champ, he was a lobby boring slug, still is, but you can never count him out, and he never refused a fight, and he was seriously underpaid as the champ, and he was one tough sob especially fighting Arlovski 3 times, I never gave that guy enough credit, too many people bagged on him before, me too.. but you know he beat some good fighters, hell he fought Mir and even with a snapped arm he tried to keep fighting…. when have you last seen that level of toughness in the UFC, watching those TUF 5 guys, heck every time a shoulder got hurt, or a rib got hurt it was tapout time… I guess what I am saying is I have more respect for Tim than for Vera…

Vera vs Assurio Silva ( sub choke )
Tim Sylvia vs Assurio Silva ( distance decision )
Vera vs Mir ( brutal knock out )
Sylvia vs Mir ( snapped arm should have tapped, not tuf very dumb )

With pride fighters in the mix now the Heavyweight devision is interesting again. Minitouro, Barnett, Fedor etc.and UFC Gonzaga and Coutore. But Vera is definitly in the mix (wasn’t it not to long ago we were watching sucky heavy weight bouts like Monson/Sylvia, Andre/Sylvia 3) . As far as the UFC and Dana they got the best product out there hands down but lets see the best fight the best who did not want to see Vanderla and lidell two years ago. I pay my $40 monthly on PPV and am excited to see how it pans out

I like Tim Sylvia man, your talking about a guy who Pat Miletich spotted in an airport an said, Holy sht! you know how to fight? That was it man! he started training, Hes got size strength and hes tough as nails! He might not be a good technical fighter, but hes definately improved from when he first started.

Your talking about a guy who was the UFC HW Champ! you think that sht comes easy? especially when these guys have 10-15 years more experience in fighting than you do?? Some of these guys been in martial arts their whole life.. I think it was a HELL of an accomplishment with everyone hating on him and trying to hold him down the whole way.

He wasnt an exciting fighter because he worrys more about winning than being a showman and trying to keep the fight exciting. Like in the monson fight, Tim was ahead on the scorecards, so in his mind its on Monson to bring the fight to him. Thats a common boxing tactic, but people are used to watching long boring boxing matches so it doesnt matter lol. Everyone including myself would have like to see him try and stop monson ionstead of being lazy and waiting for the decision. Theres a risk involved in that ofcourse.. and he made his choice..

ive heard the story on how pat found tim ,and the only reason why i think he sucks is cuz hes a “boring”fighter but i never thought of him as a push over either and vera just hasnt faught any real competition at all

Vera has not ducked anyone. Mike Whitehead, Justin Eilers, schurger, Mir ( ok out of shape agreed ), Silva, most of thesse guys were favorites -not top 5 heavys but not laydowns either. Vera last fight on his contract will be a test and I think people will start giving him more respect after. Tim has also been caught juicing. His greatest accomlishment is beating an over rated arlovski. Tim is not even Pat’s best heavy weight. Ben Rothwell of the IFL will beat him. and Its a nice story how he was found and I don’t hate the guy but I just don’t care to see him fight with the elite anymore. He can still have a career fighting in the side shows with guys like Bob Sapp and Butterbean

uhhh.. I wouldnt bulk Tim in with guys like Sapp and Butterbean.. I think he belongs in the UFC, You put Tim against anyone at Heavyweight and he’ll make it a fight. Dont Sleep on Tim man.. Has Ben Rothwell ever been the UFC HW Champ? no.. has he fought the level of fighters that Tim has? no..

As for Vera.. I agree with Richard and Kansas, let him Fight Arlovski and lets see what happens. If he gets a definitive victory, he moves up the ranks, thats how it works. Just like if your at 170, before you get anywhere in the division, you gotta get past Riggs. If you cant get past Arlovski, you will never be the champ.

I was thinking today and wanted to know if there is anyone here who would still love to see Sylvia vs. CroCop? and then I realized, I actually would. I would love to see Mirko kick Sylvia into MMA oblivion right in his ribs and keel him over. That kick would fit liek a glove into Sylvia’s belly flab…then we could watch the slowmotion replays over and over again.

@ BVRASP,

It seems like your always defending fighters just because they were so called “UFC Champions”. Before Liddell/Rampage 2, I kept insisting that Liddell had not fought any significant competition in several years and you kept saying not to underestimate him, we all know what happened. Now your defending Sylvia as if he should be in the HW mix of top fighters? cmo’n man…wake up…you still can’t see through all the Dana White BS and how he protects certain fighters? That’s probably why his fighters accept smaller salaries, because he doesn’t make them do anything really dangerous like enter an Open Weight Grand Prix like Pride used to do. You can’t tell me that you agree with many of the PPV fight cards that publicize the reality show more.

Being the champion is obviously the ultimate goal. Growing up and training with Matt Serra on LI and seeing him with the belt is great. He’s a great guy and excellent fighter. Do I think he is the best at 170 absolutly not. but any one has a punchers chance and thats exactly how Tim S caught Andre comming in. Everyone thought arlovski was the best but who was he beating to get there , Cabage. It seems like there is alot of vera haters here so I will not mention him but do you think Tim could really put on a respectable showing against the likes of Gonzaga ,Nogeria or Fedor? Pats camp gets favarable treatment by Dana in return they don’t Question small paydays. Why should hughs get to walk into a title fight again without facing Parision, Diego or even Nick Diaz to get there. Even GSP has to fight Koscheck first. Tim got this treatment to and that combined with a thin hw devision is how he was the champ

jr
u have some really good points but i know i hate to bring up old **** but tim has already beat ben rothwell and true everyone has a punchers chance but what about the second time tim beat arlovski i dont like tim sylvia at all but u have to give credit when credit is do.Now why should matt hughes be thrown back in the mix well because he is the most dominant champion the ufc has ever seen thats why but dont get me wrong i would love to see a parysion vs hughes or diego vs hughes ,plus i love diaz but hes not in the ufc no more and in the ufc he always failed to rise to the occassion but it doesnt mean i aint a nick fan {even though i would also love a diaz vs hughes or even sanchez vs diaz}

LOL Amir, i was the first one to say Rampage would win that fight, what are you talking about bro? I was on Rampages side in their first fight, and i was surely with Rampage the second time.. i think everyone knows that..

Im defending Tim because i dont like when people hate on fighters, i never said he was a top heavyweight.. you added that.. now your saying who did Arlovski beat.. you must be crazy man, you dont like Arlovski either i guess. I give credit where credit is due, you can go around saying Tim sucks, andre sucks, your sounding like patrick these days.

These guys are fighters, dana is the basically the promoter, the fighters dont pick the fights.. so if you want to blame someone blame dana, dont hate on the fighters man.. You hate Tim because dana protected him? i dunno what to tell you.. but as for me, i dont respect Tim Sylvia and arlovski for ANYTHING that Dana white did, i respect them for what THEY do..

anyone who gets in the cage has my respect. I roll 5-6 days a week and am confident on the ground. I been in many fights in my youth and I don’t have the B-lls to fight in an mma event. So I don’t hate Tim or Andre and of course they had some success. I just dont understand why when a Guy like Vera holds for more cash every body bashes him and if you just fall into zuffa ent. pay scale your more apt to fight for a title. I hate when Buisness gets in the way but its a buisness. How is it that these b league mma orgs can pay so much more to fighters when the UFC is the biggest draw. Doesn’t every body want to see Fedor in the UFC?

the big thing with the UFC is the accessibility the reach the biggest audience (in north America) so if you want the most people to know your name you almost have to fight there at least once or twice. just look at Cro Cop a lot of north American fan are writing him off already because as far as there concerned his record is 1-1. Dana White and Zuffa are evil yes, but a necessary evil if we didnt have them we wouldnt have a steady flow of fights to watch. thing will get better for the fighters as these other orgs. get bigger Zuffa will have to start handing out bigger paydays to keep the fighters from leaving.

dana is a animal and protects his investments but his animal mentality is what keeps fighters who know there worth away ie FEDOR

I think Vera has enough accolades to his name to be able to demand more money. He is, in my opinion up there in the top 5 heavyweights. Money negotiations are apart of the biz. Do I think he asked for too much? Yes.

Also, looking back 5 months ago, I am sure some of you are biting your tongue about cro cop facing Vera. Cro cop is past his prime in my opinion just as Frank Mir.

As of right now though, if Couture retains his title after his next fight, Dana would never in a million years setup a Vera vs. Couture title fight. It is not at all a marketable fight. My guess is that Vera and UFC will come to a contractual agreement of some sort, and Vera will have a title shot somewhere around UFC 80, which at that time, it is most likely that Couture will not have the title.

@Jeff
i dont know if you can say Vera is top 5 he has never even stepped in with a top 10 fighter and he might just be good enough to be the top of the heap but i think he needs to prove that first.
CroCop has one loss in just over a year i dont really think that makes him over the hill. i think CroCop would be a great test for Vera to see where he is at in the heavy weight ranks. if Vera can beat some one like CroCop or Nog or even Sylvia then he might be top 10 and worth a little more.

for sure now he aint in the top five espically in the world helllll no not even close he should of stepped in to fight liddel

Vera is asking WAY TOO MUCH. 200 G’s for Vera is very applauding! He should be greatful and take the deal. Brandon is a great fighter and is no doubt on his way up, but business is business. No matter how much you don’t agree with Dana or the top Brass, they are re-building a fallen empire and doing a good job at that. Yes, I will agree that the favortism is noticed but the bottom Line is that as the sport grows…so will the payrolls and hopefully the diversity as well.

vera is back and going to kick UFC heavyweight butt! i guess the deal was made and vera is back and maybe fighting in October…the truth has returned…HOLLA *******!

I remember Vera calling out Chuck Liddell after his first outing in the octagon. Now that Chuck has been dethroned, maybe we’ll get to see that fight after all.

If not, I hope he destroys some heavyweights.

@R.J.,

Vera not top 5? Would you agree Top 7??

Read the article released on UFC.com about his return to the Octagon. Dana is predicting a championship bout for Vera in 08, so i am thinking the same way the boss is…..can’t argue with that…..

@Jeff
im sure if the time is right Dana and the UFC will call Vera the #1 contender, but just because the UFC might call Vera a top ten guy doesnt make it true. i can think of at least 10 or 15 fighters who have done way more in the sport of mma then Vera and there not even seen as top ten. i wouldnt even put Vera in the top five of just the UFC. sometimes you gotta look past the hype and look at there track record.

Vera might have demanded a lot, but there’s some evidence out there that his former manager was holding out on him… so you can’t be so quick to point the finger at The Truth. Here’s a link that I found that goes deeper into the story of the split between Vera and Mark Dion, his former manager.

http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AqKaSN4UtVkpar1ahKDOpCWUxLYF?slug=ki-vera083001&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

For all his critics out there, here are a few stats of his to take note of:

Vera is undefeated in his MMA career - 8 wins, 0 losses.
Out of those 8 wins, 6 are TKO’s, 1 is from submission, 1 is from decision (Not in UFC).
None of his UFC fights have gone to the final round.

Granted, I don’t believe he’s been put to the test of his abilities, but his victories have one thing in common: THEY HAVE ALL BEEN DECISIVE. He deserved to be ranked among the top heavyweights back then, and until someone (Sylvia, Couture, Arlovski, Mirko “I totally suck in the UFC” Cro Cop, etc.) can take that away, I feel he’s still one of the best out there. Quit hating on him and let the man fight. Personally I’d love to see him go up against Arlovski because I think his losses to Sylvia were flukes, and I believe Arlovski will truly bring a challenge to The Truth’s unblemished record.

Bottom line, Brandon will be 9-0 after October 20th, and the doubters and skeptics are gonna have to shut their mouths.

OUT.

Please vera will knock out all of you’s. He is a great fighter.. he is George St. Pierre in the heavy weith division. I personally think Cro-cop is struggling right now.. He got knocked out by Gonzaga and he could not finish Kongo. Besides like Randy Couture said about Cro-cop, he is a one dimensional fighter..Get Cro-cop on the ground and his is in trouble. I think Vera can beat Cro-cop and he can get away with getting more money.. good for him. Vera is A great fighter.. and he’s destroyed every one put in front of him.. maybe he has not fought top 10 ranked guys but every one in the ufc is good.. that’s why theyr’e there - and he’s crushed every one.. and wev’e seen he has great submission.. give the guy some credit.. ANd i won’t be surprise if he knocked out Cro-cop..

i wouldnt be saying vera is the gsp of the heavywieght division cuz that means he will get the belt then lose it to a”nobody”in a devastating fashion

So Gsp lost.. ok that happens.. but the guy is great.. and that’s what i meant comparing Gsp to Vera.. He has devastating ko power, quick, great submission, great stand up, great clinch, good grappling.. he’ll fight where ever the fight goes.
Most heavy weights are one dimensional.. I’m sure Gsp is still wondering how he lost to Serra. **** happens! especially in MMA.. Gotta love it!!!!!!

SOME GREAT DREAM FIGHTS

RAMPAGE VS COUTURE
GSP VS ANDERSON SILVA
CHUCK LIDDELL VS CRO-COP
HUGHES VS KYRO KARISIAN
KENFLOW VS BJ PENN
MATT SERRA VS DIEGO SANCHEZ
KONGO VS TIM SILVIA
BRANDON VERA VS ARLOVSKI
EVAN TANNER VS JEREMY HORN
RICH FRANKLIN VS ORTIZ
MICHAEL BISPING VS FORREST GRIFFIN

THESE WOULD BE AWESOME TO WACTH!! WHAT??