Brandon Vera Ready to Play Spoiler at UFC on FOX 4

STUDIO MMA, RIVERSIDE, CA – Since it was announced Brandon Vera will be Thiago Silva’s replacement and face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC on FOX 4, fans have been outraged over the matchup.

As Vera found out when he received a disrespectful facebook comment.

I read one comment that stuck out a lot,” Vera told Ariel Helwani on ‘The MMA Hour’. “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.”

Vera knows the importance of this fight and what a win could do for his career.

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.”

In 2006 Vera was turning heads in the heavyweight division, with finishes over Fabiano Scherner, Justin Eilers, Assuerio Silva and Frank Mir. Instead of challenging then champion Tim Sylvia, Vera was in a contract dispute with the UFC, taking nearly a year to resolve the issue.

After starting his career with 8 straight victories, Vera has gone 4-5 with 1NC in his last 10 outings.

(Photo via CagePotato.com)