Brandon Vera says ONE FC shows its fighters more respect than UFC

Brandon Vera spent nearly eight years on the UFC roster. Now that his professional relationship with the organization is over, though, he has mixed emotions about his time there.

Vera experienced nearly every dynamic of life during his time with the UFC. He was an undefeated prospect when he entered the organization in 2005, evolved into a title contender, suffered a loss, then consecutive losses for the first time, changed weight classes, was released and brought back to the company, and even shared the octagon with fighters who attempted to cheat.

That’s just a sample of what Vera endured. But even after all that, he was still confident the UFC wanted to use his services. Well, until one day, when they didn’t.

“It was kind of a shock,” Vera told MMAjunkie of the end of his UFC tenure. “I was still in negotiations. Me and (UFC President) Dana (White) were supposed to be talking and all of sudden it came out (I was cut). As soon as that came out, I sent Dana a text and I was like, ‘What are you doing? What’s going on?'”

Vera claims he never got a response to that text, so he decided to look elsewhere for employment. That’s when ONE FC presented an irresistible offer. But even with the attractive terms, Vera still felt loyal to the UFC.

“I gave Dana a chance to talk and let me know what’s going on,” Vera said. “He heard about the offers and last thing I heard from Dana was, ‘F–k, kid, you (fighting) in Asia makes a lot of sense. It’s an amazing offer, so good luck out there.'”

After conversing with White, Vera came to the realization the UFC portion of his career was over. He took a hard look at the offer from ONE FC and decided it was the best avenue for his future.

“It was time to move on,” Vera said. “(I didn’t want to be with the UFC) after I talked to ONE FC and started seeing their platform and what they’re trying to do with MMA over in Asia. Everything happened at the exact right time. I can’t even explain it.”

Before Vera could move on completely, though, he wanted to voice some of his grievances with White. “The Truth” has no intention of going on an anti-UFC crusade like some former members of the organization, but Vera is still bitter about how certain situations were handled.

From his controversial decision loss to Randy Couture at UFC 105 to fighting on an uneven playing field against Thiago Silva and Ben Rothwell, Vera admits he holds bitterness towards his past.

“I have nothing bad to say about the UFC, but I have a couple things I’m still salty about,” Vera said. “Everything from the decision with Randy Couture all the way to the PEDs and everything in between. The respect the fighters are not given is a big deal.

“My biggest thing was the respect issue. Not just for me, but for other fighters and all fighters. The stories you hear in the back, the injuries that aren’t taken care of and just the lack of respect. It’s nothing I want to dive too much into.”

The fact Vera was still bottling those emotions encouraged him to move on with his career. He said he experienced the way ONE FC treats its fighters, and after that, there was no more looking back.

“I couldn’t fathom not being with ONE FC; they treat fighters like modern day Samurai,” Vera said. “From the flight and hotels to everything else. I don’t know how to explain it. Sometimes you’ll go into an MMA gym and you’re like, ‘F–k this place.’ Then you could go into another gym and be like, ‘Wow, I could hang out here for a while and not just train, I could kick it here.’ It’s kind of like that. It’s a totally different vibe and mentality. They care about fighters. It’s nice.”

Vera (12-7) makes his promotional debut against Igor Subora (5-1) this Friday at ONE FC 23. The events takes place at Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, and is available for purchase via online pay-per-view.

After spending the past several years competing against the likes of Couture, Jon Jones, Fabricio Werdum, Mauricio Rua and more, an opponent like Subora can only be viewed as a step down.

With just one victory in his past six fights, though, that’s exactly what Vera needs.

“(His inexperience is) almost the most dangerous part,” Vera said. “I’ve seen Igor fighting people who I can’t gauge or measure. It’s scary. It’s like fighting a guy from Parts Unknown. I’ve seen a couple films on him. He has heavy hands. He likes to move forward and he’ll take some punishment. It’s a nerve rack trying to plan for this guy, because it’s hard to plan.”

Regardless of opponent, Vera has every intention of succeeding in his ONE FC debut, especially since it’s in the Philippines. The UFC has long made efforts to host an event in the country, and Vera’s Filipino background made him a prime candidate to be featured on that card.

UFC has yet to hold an event in the region, but Vera’s newfound relationship with ONE FC will allow him to compete there anyway in what he called a “dream scenario.”

At 37, Vera will finally cross a bout in the Philippines off his bucket list. An item that will still remain on that list, though, is a championship belt. Vera intends on spending the remainder of his career with ONE FC and would like nothing more than to retire with a belt wrapped around his waist.

“I told ONE FC that I would like to finish my career with them and would like to have my last fight on my 40th birthday,” Vera said. “I want the ONE FC heavyweight title, but you know how that goes. If I have the belt and I’m 40 years old, they’ll ask me if I’m going to retire and I’ll probably say no. We’ll see how that goes.”

For more on ONE FC 23, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.