Vera never evolved as a fighter. He believed his own hype and thought he didn't need to develop his skills.
I wouldnt say skill was the big factor, he is clearly a good MT fighter with decent wrestling and BJJ. The problem has been he just can't take the pressure, he might not have been finished that often but as soon as he's under any pressure any thought of offence goes out the window and its nothing but defence and another decision lost. Just as with Brock I think he needs to seek out a new training enviroment thats going to push him harder. Shifting over to Golden Glory would be a good option IMHO, he'd be pushed hard in sparring and they have a history of making MT work in MMA with Overeem.
The UFC are being absolutley ruthless with these cuts lately , Marcus Davis should not be cut , Vera .................. i cant defend him anymore , ****in real shame , even Ben Saunders got cut months ago , its ****in stupid , nobody's safe :deal
Davis is a harsh cut. He has wins over some good fighters. It is impossible for the UFC to have fighters who continously win. Someone has to lose.
They're being harsher with the cuts because they have two new divisions now, so they can afford to be. Basically if you are earning above your station you'll get cut. Of course there are still a lot worse LHW's in the UFC than Brandon Vera, but they don't get paid Brandon Vera money.
This is obvious , so instead of cutting the guy , you cut one of the weaker 205 'ers and keep Vera just pay the guy less and give him less exposure , i.e. he has just fallen two rungs down the UFC ladder for under performing but has the option to get his **** together with a couple of big wins . The balance in the UFC is becoming inbalanced , they are cutting better fighters than they have in the middle to lower echelons of there divisions , it makes no sense !!! For example Tito Ortiz in his last fight against Matt Hamil was the 2nd top earner on the card , Tito hasnt looked half decent in a long time but earns more than Cain Velasquez !!!! gimme a break
Vera will be able to make more money elsewhere. He won't go back onto fighting for $12,000 to show $12,000 to win again.
Brock's next few fights are going to be tough for him. Apart from beating up Mir i dont favor him vs any of the heavys in the UFC. He's kryptonite was shown up for all to see and i cant see how he gets to stay if he's not able to work his way back into legit title contention. Maybe we'll see Brock Kimbo...
Davis yes as he's blue collar. But Vera? No way. Its about time. Im tired of hearing about Vera's socalled talent. He's had soo many opportunity's. And every time he fails.
I quite liked Vera. A fighter who never truly delivered, just had a bit of a soft spot for him. Just a "what could have been" scenario. He had to go though. The Silva loss was clear cut.