Brandon Vera

Brandon ‘The Truth’ Vera was born on October 10th, 1977 in Norfolk, Virginia. The Filipino-American attended Lake Taylor High School where he earned himself both a name in amateur wrestling and an athletic scholarship to Old Dominion University. Vera enlisted in the United States Air Force after only one year at Old Dominion.

Vera became an instant star on the Air Force wrestling team and he trained constantly at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. His wrestling career ended in 1999 after he suffered severe damage to the ligaments in his right elbow. Though surgery was able to repair the ligaments Vera lost the use of his right arm due to nerve damage. He received a medical discharge from the Air Force later that year.

After returning to Virginia Vera began intense rehabilitation work on his damaged arm and quickly found himself prepared to enter the Grapplers Quest wrestling competition. He did well at the series and caught the eye of Brazilian jiu jitsu coach Lloyd Irvin. Irvin immediately invited Vera to train at his school and Vera began to build on his wrestler skills.

Vera’s first bout as a professional MMA fighter took place on July 6th, 2002, versus Adam Rivera. Vera won via a TKO in the very first round. He went on to win another match in 2004 before entering the World Extreme Cagefighting tournament in 2005. Vera managed to win against two fighters in separate matches, finishing the contest by defeating Mike Whitehead.

Vera relocated to San Diego, California in early 2004 in order to accept a training position with Mark Dion’s City Boxing. He quickly proved his skills as a trainer and Dion decided to take him on as his manager, giving Vera partial ownership of City Boxing in the process. Vera continued his training in wrestling, mixed martial arts and grappling before finally getting an invitation to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Brandon Vera entered the UFC octagon for the first time on October 3, 2005 at Ultimate Fight Night 2. He faced off against Fabiano Scherner and was able to deliver a TKO halfway through the second round. UFC 57 saw his next bout and yet another knockout versus Justin Eilers. With his reputation as a knockout heavyweight beginning to precede him Vera switched things up for a submission victory over Assuerio Silva, ending that bout with a guillotine choke. UFC management decided to test Vera with a bout against renowned fighter Frank Mir. Vera responded by winning the fight in only 69 seconds via a TKO.

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