Can Brandon Vera Afford A Loss At UFC 105 Against Randy Couture?

by Kelvin Hunt on Nov 12, 2009 1:00 PM EST in News Comment 12 comments

UFC LHW Brandon Vera

I wrote earlier that I expected Brandon Vera to beat Randy Couture at UFC 105 this weekend. However, as I stated then, you definitely can't count out Couture in this fight. We all know this fight is a breakout type of fight for Brandon Vera. A fight to put him over the top, to get his swag back so to speak. Couture was the slight favorite the last time I checked the odds on this fight, but realistically, Vera should win it. The question I want to ask is what if Vera doesn't win? What if he takes a close split decision L against the UFC Hall Of Famer? At that point, is he essentially done in regards to being a fighter on the up and ups? Is it possible that he could turn in a good performance in a losing effort and still gain something even in a loss? Let's take a look at some factors:

-Vera just turned 32 years old last month.

-This will be his 11th UFC fight and his UFC record stands at 7-3 right now

-He fights in the most stacked division in MMA

-He would have just lost to a 46 year old guy that had lost two in a row, and hadn't fought at LHW since 2006.

What say you?

SBN coverage of UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera

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before the tuf 10 show came on last night the were showing a highlight reel of his most impressive wins

i guess the one where he smashed frank mir’s face would be number one here. i liked the head kick vs that hw opponent. the dude had a delayed knockout effect. feeding us all this brandon the “truth” vera makes my thinketh randy couture is going to dominate this fight. if you saw the promo for next week tuf 10 show you saw a guy picking up and throwing down i think schaub to the canvas. i guarantee that schaub wins that fight. reality shows always play that trick. peace.

by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 12, 2009 1:08 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Randy For The Win

I don’t think Randy will be affected by a third loss UNLESS he gets KO’ed. Let’s be real, Randy will be aware of the leg kicks, particularly the high kick to the dome. I don’t think Vera has KO power standing. I expect Randy to control the fight on the ground, tiring out Vera for the decision victory.

If and when Vera loses, he will be out of title contention for sure and possibly 1 fight away from being released. HE BETTER NOT COME IN WITH A SUBPAR performance.

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by VeeisAnimated on Nov 12, 2009 2:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

You don't think Vera has KO power?

Even though he has 2 KOs on his record? Doesn’t that mean he DOES have KO power?

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by funnytiger on Nov 13, 2009 10:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Funnytiger > VeeIsAnimated.
I totally forgot that he actually has KO victories, but his recent fights poorly reflects his skills.

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by VeeisAnimated on Nov 13, 2009 11:26 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

LOl

I totally agree that his recent fights haven’t been very impressive. I thought he put on a pretty good fight against the Scrabble Man, but he didn’t show any signs of trying to end the fight. Maybe he has less power at 205?

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by funnytiger on Nov 13, 2009 11:36 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He doesn’t have one punch KO power…

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by Kelvin Hunt on Nov 13, 2009 3:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No

But he didn’t say “one punch KO power” he said “KO power” which he does (or at least at one point in time) possess(ed)

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by funnytiger on Nov 13, 2009 4:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yea

but when most people refer to KO power..they are referring to 1 or 2 punches that can put someone away…Vera’s never really had that….he dropped Mir with that Knee…and dropped Eilers with that headkick…but as far as hands go…he doesn’t have true KO power…it takes a succession of hits from him to put guys away.

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by Kelvin Hunt on Nov 13, 2009 5:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

But by this definition

It took 1 head kick to put Eilers away. And quite frankly, when referring to a KO I just would not assume what people are referring to and simply base it on the outcome of the assault which their opponent being unconscious.

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by funnytiger on Nov 16, 2009 8:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Vera needs to win if he wants to be considered as one of the “top” LHW’s.

A loss to Couture would leave him as a ‘middle of the pack’ fighter in the UFC.

by joseph. on Nov 12, 2009 3:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

a loss will all but end his title contention

in that respect he can’t afford a loss. however he aint no bum so he’ll still have a job if he does but the fan fare that exists among his loyal fans will be decimated. i for one am willing/have been willing to afford him every opportunity to reach his goals

this is it for me, if he cant muster something special/noteworthy against randy then i am giving up on him making it. its on the cusp of him being a similar talker to crocop should he lose with an unconvincing performance. everything is built up about his upcoming fight, the camp/mindset/outlook,hunger has changed and we’re in for something refreshing.

THIS IS IT BRANDON.

either put up and make good on your talk or hush

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by RearNakedPoke on Nov 12, 2009 4:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

A loss for Vera would obliterate what little relevance he has at present. If he loses this fight he needs to give Strikeforce or Dream a try, not that there is much glory to be had there.

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by villin on Nov 13, 2009 6:23 AM EST reply actions 0 recs