In an attempt to dispel the rumors that he may be a punk for avoiding Lyoto Machida, Brandon Vera claims he had good reasons for turning that fight down (he needs time to train with awkward kung fu enthusiasts) and insists that Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson both turned down fights against him. So now who’s the punk? Answer: everyone but Machida.
It’s all here in this MMA Rated video, where Vera goes on to say that he moved down to light heavyweight to take the fight against Reese Andy as “a favor”.
Seems like a lot of UFC fighters are doing favors in order to get this July 19 Anti-Affliction card off the ground. And you know what they say, fighters are like the mob when it comes to favors. One day — and that day may never come — they’ll call upon you and ask for a favor in return. That is what they say, right? If not, they should.
The UFC has been busy this week. Between throwing together the July 19 Anti-Affliction show and preparing for the TUF 7 Finale on Saturday, someone in the Zuffa offices has definitely earned themselves a vacay (don’t worry, Anderson Silva will fill in for you while you’re gone).
For Saturday night’s show, Tim Credeur vs. Cale Yarbrough has been officially added, bringing the total number of scheduled bouts to eleven. They won’t all fit into the three-hour broadcast, but that might just mean we get spared having to sit through another Marvin Eastman joint.
For the July 19 show, former IFL fighter Brad Blackburn has reportedly been signed to take on fellow UFC newcomer James Giboo. As previously reported, another former IFL fighter, Reese Andy, will make his UFC debut as he welcomes Brandon Vera to the light heavyweight division.
While a lot of fans may not be familiar with Andy, he’s a former college wrestling standout at the University of Wyoming who could potentially give Vera some problems on the mat. He’s also competed at heavyweight before, so he probably won’t be giving up too much weight.
Also expected on this card — which is officially titled UFC Fight Night 14 — is Frankie Edgar squaring off with Hermes Franca, Jake O’Brien and Cain Velasquez, and Kevin Burns against Anthony Johnson.
Oh, and that Anderson Silva guy will be taking on James Irvin. If that sort of thing interests you.
