Quote of the Day: Henderson, Silva, and Sokoudjou Turned Down UFC Fight Night 14 Fight Against Brandon Vera
Posted by Kris Karkoski on Jul 14, 2008 at 11:45 am ET57 Comments
“They offered me Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Lyoto Machida and then Reese Andy. I turned down Machida. He’s not someone you take on short notice. You gotta get ready for Machida. The other fighters turned down the other fights so that’s how we came to Reese.”
Brandon Vera, who will make his light heavyweight debut at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19th against Reese Andy, tells the Baltimore Sun about the impressive list of fighters who turned down a short notice bout against “The Truth”.
Tags: Brandon Vera
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Machida puts fear into other fighters……The Dragon is legit!
I agree there isn’t much news there. The others needed to prepare for him and he needed to prepare for the dragon.
i think dan would put a beating on vera
Wanderlei Vs Vera? that could be interesting depending on how long Vera can stand being mauled.
Totally agree with Dietrich. Some great possible matchups here. How great would they have been for a free fight card?!
So Vera turned down Machida cuz he knew he would lose..and since hes lost his last two fights, that would put him in jeopardy of staying with the ufc…and the other guys turned down the fights since it would do nothing for them as far as rankings go…I mean if hendo, silva, or sokoudjou beat vera, how far would they move up the 205 latter…sounds kinda pointless
UFC sucks until Kimbo comes in! Holla! Recognize fools!
Machida is the real deal. I don’t blame Vera for not accepting that fight on short notice. Although this probably wouldn’t have been that exciting of a fight, it would’ve definitely the toughest one to win compared to the other fighters the UFC offered him. I’m surprised Vanderlei didn’t take that fight with Vera. That would have beent he one I wanted to see.
I understand why these fights didn’t happen, but as a fan its a real shame. I had alm ost forgotten about Sokoudjou…. man that division is stacked
No point for either Wandy or Hendo to fight Vera on this card. It does nothing for either of their careers. Wandy is up for a big fight which will likely be a title contender fight. And Hendo needs to make sure he is well prepared for his next bout as he can’t afford to lose a 3rd.
No doubt in my mind, both Hendo and Wandy beat Vera in that fight.
In contention for the belt right now.
- rampage
- liddell or rashad
- machida
- wanderlei
Hendo would Ground & Pound The Truth So Bad
OK… enough about this. If Fedor looks like we think he’s gonna, any chance Randy gets out of his contract and the fight we all want happens???
Ethan,
I f’n hope so brother! if Randy never fights in the UFC again (which I think he won’t) they should make it happen but soon…how much time does Randy really have left?
Suprised some of these guys didn’t step up!
Ethan & Rydawg
That fight would get the juices flowing, you’d have to think if it doesn’t happen within the next 12 months it isn’t going to happen at all, f*cking shame
Wanderlei -Vera would have been so much fun for the fans.It would be nice to see some more Chute Boxe style wars like a couple of years ago.
jpm- as old as Randy is I am worried it may too late already. please please please….. I don’t think Dana will let him out. Anybody know the legalities??? Is that UFC contract for an unlimited time until he fights his four fights?
Machida vs. Hendo would be a good fight. As far as fighters turning down fights on the reason of short notice, makes you wonder if Dana will hold that against them in the long run. I really think the UFC dropped the ball on their July 19th card. They had plenty of time to get this ready, but waited until the last minute. It’s a shame, because they could have had contracts signed and fighters prepared without annoucing it until they did. Dana got punked by Trump. Kimbo’s a hack and nothing more.
I’m over the Randy/Fedor fight hype. I don’t really care at this point if it ever happens. Randy hasn’t fought in how long? He would need a tune up fight or 2 and that would just push that fight even farther back. And what if he lost a tune up fight. Loses even more of the hype.
Randy didn’t need a tune up fight last time he came back from retirement against the champ Tim Sylvia did he????
There is a rumor of a Fedor injury(Sherdog post linked to interview with big Tim out of Baltimore?) Anybody know anymore?
Other news Vernon White 9 moth suspension by NSAC for a diuretic….”Tiger going wee wee wee all the way home…”
Dietrich,
I saw the same thing and I’m not sure what’s up w/ that but it seems that Fedor now has a built in crutch to fall on if he loses to Tim…or at least his fans do.
Rydawg,
You would think the MMA writers would be taking to this like sharks with blood in the water. I agree with you about the crutch and yes I do have Tim winning this fight before the injury because Fedor hasn’t been tested in a while and Tim is focused and has a chip on his shoulder. My opinion is you will see the Tim vs Asseurio /Tim vs “Trauma” version of Tim this weekend and the Fedor camp is going to wax philosophic about it.
Dietrich, I heard something about a Fedor rumor also. I think Micheal Bisping was saying in some interview he had that he heard of an injury. I think Affliction has to let (make) him fight a this point. The entire reputation of the MMA group Affliction could revolve around that fight. It’s going to suck if their first ever BIG fight is called due to injury.
I just read that Bisping heard it through the grapevine. I am not gonna take anything that jackass says seriously until another source backs it up. Even if he’s a little knicked up, I still see one of those big overhand rights gettin’ it done!
I hope it’s all b.s. ’cause I paid good money to see this fight up close and personal…so I hope they are at their best, but that’s hard to hope for when Fedor hasn’t fought in quite a while.
Ethan, Rutdog, Rydawg,
Looks like Affliction has the true catch 22. Can’t disappoint the crowd but you can’t endanger the mealticket. Hope California can screen out any problem because even if you don’t like Fedor you don’t want to see him put himself at unnecessary risk for Donald Trump.
Rydawg,
Been where you are at….Hope you get the advertised card my friend.
Dietrich
i thought this site said that vera turned down the silva fight and the other.i guess brandon aint as week as i thought.
i think fedor beats tim in one rnd even with an injury and i hope the couture fight comes next.
Dietrich,
Thanks Brother I’m keeping my fingers crossed
I have a feeling it’ll be a good time regardless…the anticipation is KILLING ME!!!! hahaha
Who has Randy even beat to be considered to be the best.. Honestly??
SEAN DUDE DON’T EVEN GO THERE… DON’T SPEAK NONSENSE…
YZFOXRACING,
Haha perfect response, that’s blasphemy damn it!
you cant really prepare for lyoto he just wanted a nice garbage fighter to break the ice at 205 now he will look like a phenomnon at 205 cause this guy will probably blow… you know what would be funny thats if reese come in like tim boetch did and just kick some butt
Someone said earlier who should be in contention for the LHW belt right now? I think no one immediatly…Here’s how I think it should go down…
1. Rematch: Griffin vs. Jackson (So everybody could quit arguing about who shouldv’e won)
2. The UFC should put Wand vs. Machida, and winner of that fight faces winner of Lidell vs. Evans.
Whoever wins that double header should fight for the title of rematch between Griffin vs. Jackson
Joel b,
Reese is skilled and Brandon while he should win better pack a lunch…
Dietrich,
I agree, Vera might be spending to much time in the mirror practicing his weird squatting victory dance and might take Reese lightly…
Lyoto “The Fleeing Dragon” Machida strikes fear to all men.
BIG RAPPER,
HAHAHA……….Do you know what Kimbo is capable of on the street? It’s going to be disturbing what Kimbo teaches the average fan about MMA. Kimbo lacks so much “well rounded fighting skill,” that he doesn’t even need to train. It’s disturbing.
Vera is going to make the most of this opportunity because he has no choice. If he wants to stay with the UFC after losing his last 2 fights at HW, he better make his LHW debut something to remember. Should Vera lose his debut fight at LHW to Reese, he will be next to useless in the talent pool and lucky not to be dropped from the UFC. I like Vera a lot and think he has a ton of talent….he needs to get back on track though.
Does anyone else think Wand needs a few more fights to fight for the title?
I mean I know he’s Wanderlei Silva and all but he lost to Chuck and he beat Jardine, who also lost to Houstin Alexander (which is why he didn’t fight for the title and Forrest did). I mean thats not exactly a resume to jump into title contention with even inside the UFC
I’d like to see Wand fight Machida, I’m not at ALL interested in another Wand Hendo match up at the moment because Hendo is 0-2 inside the UFC and i’d like to see him compile a few fights before he takes on a guy that can easily make him 0-3, I don’t mean to feed him cans but give him guys like McDonald or Lambert to let him kinda build up momentum so we can see the BEST henderson instead of a timid guy.
Vera vs anyone in 205 can pose problems because he is a good striker with good BJJ, we just saw him lose to Timmah who is big and strong and borring as hell but still a major problem for any HW to deal with, and Werdum who was beatin him up bad but it was still a crap call.
I think Vera is perfect for 205 and he really needs to get training with Forrest so he can learn how to pack on some abbs and core muscle. That guy is flat as hell.. but he still can KO anybody.
Dietrich, i dont know anything about reese other than sherdog stats so i am really limited vera is an established fighter so i am sure he should win I am not so sure as to what that 20 lbs he cut will do to him we will see though. i hope its a war and i hope that its close.
brandon, i like wandi but i am not so sure he is ready for a title shot he has to get in line especially when we have undefeated fighters at 205 he better land some good fights to boost his ……. i dont want to say tarnished credibility but i cant find the word he is very credible but he has to get back to the winning ways a little more. like 2 top contender fights then maybe another liddel fight that would be a fun rematch
Big rapper, Kimbo is an MMA joke. He could not compete in the UFC with real athletes. He is just another practitioner of drunk-jitsu like Tank Abbott. He needs to stick to his Youtube fights where he can pummel rookie boxers.
Ethan,
As much as I would like to see a Couture/Fedor fight, the recent squabble between Couture and the UFC has pretty much killed the chances. The only chance for this fight to take place is if Dana White loosens up his stance on cross-promotion. Like I said, KILLED.
I hope Brandon wins this fight in spectacular fashion. I would like to see him return to his former glory when he broke into the UFC. He was climbing the HW ladder quickly and calling out Chuck Liddell the whole time. His loss to Tim Silvia was disappointing. Hopefully he can excell in the LHW class. Maybe fight Chuck???
joel b,
I think Andy did 2 tours with maurice smith and his tiger sharks and was good enough to continue to the solo stuff. Hes fun to watch but little Bart the ” Polish hammer?” pala….I am not even going to try to spell that name… was the breakout star of the IFL.His biggest problems will be ufc debut, transition to ufc rules and time limits, and I think Brandon will have a little height on him which is killer when fighting a thai or greco background fighter.
machida is a boaring fighter, kimbo sux, randy is the ish, and and nobody would have anything to gain by beating vera… yet
Vera should definately win, and I want him to represent my home town of San Diego well, but he worries me w/ all his trash talking right before fighting a new comer to the UFC…Every body knows your only as good as your last performance…but i guess it’s always been his style to talk shiz…I wonder how long he has been working on cutting his wait…because trying to cut out Carne Asada Burritos from “Albertos,” out of your diet is not easy! LOL
joel b
how can you say wanderlei needs 2 more top contender fights??? in case you didnt remember, wanderlei just made keith jardine look like an idiot. keith jardine, the same guy who beat former champ chuck liddell and current champ forrest griffin! how can you say that he wasnt a contender??? in my oppinion he has one more top 10 fight b4 he is ready for a title fight, maybe against machida so everyone will get off of his band wagon!!!
FROM WHAT I REMEMBER CHUCK PRETTY MUCH DOMINATED THE WANDY FIGHT.
I think he is saying because of heiarchy questions 2 more fights with Wanderlei would provide legitmacy for those unaware of all records(read Avg drunk guy who is watching at bar).
i dont know if anyone else heard about this but on wanderlai’s myspace he said his next opponent will be either machida or thiago silva…..either one would be a spectacular fight in my opinion!
Machida is everyones badguy so let wanderlei axe him about his future.
i would love to see wanderlai vs thiago because there kinda similar in there styles of just coming forward and never quiting…would be good fight..i think wanderlai would expose him though and win with a tko or ko in rnd1 or rnd2
ok i haven’t read any of the other of the other post but im shocked to here vera bottled machida ide love to see that fight ide have vera winning by KO, sh1t this 205 is stacked
To Big Rapper: I love Kimbo but I gotta be honest: he’s LEARNING to be an MMA fighter. Most decent heavyweights and many light-heavyweights would wreck Kimbo. Did you witness the fiasco with James “Megapunk/Colossus” Thompson? Kimbo smokes cigarettes, for crying out loud. He gets gassed so easily that he’d have his hands full with even some of the lower echelon of UFC, Elite XC, etc.
Liddell got a gift from Wanderlei who erred grossly by doing simple stand-up with Chuck; a huge mistake ’cause that’s all Chuck knows. It’s amazing Liddell has gotten away with it for so long. There’s nothing ‘mixed’ about Liddell’s martial arts. He’s basically the best boxer in the light-heavyweight class of the UFC (though Rampage put a question mark even to that). If someone had enough sense (as did Jardine) to do more than box with Liddell, he doesn’t seem to know how to handle it. Silva, as a Muay Thai expert, had a perfect opportunity (despite his huge size disadvantage) to take Chuck to places unknown. Wanderlei’s frittered away that opportunity; I love Wanderlei Silva but his strategy versus the bigger/better pugilist Liddell was weak. In a rematch, Silva wins if he’s analyzed the loss to Liddell at all. Liddell will never again be champion of the UFC’s light-heavyweight division. His one-dimensional approach was busted by Jardine, far from the toughest or most capable fighter in the division. It would likewise be busted by Silva (in a rematch) Machida, Griffin, Jackson (as it was twice already) and a few others. Chuck would be seriously in over his head versus even the slightly built, smaller Anderson Silva. I like Chuck too and have very much enjoyed his fights but denying the truth serves no good purpose.