"I'm fighting Shogun, for sure I'm nervous, you gotta be kind of nervous when you're fighting Shogun but my biggest concern with Shogun is his pride. There is no fear in Shogun, there is no he's too tired, there's no questioning whether he's good or not, there's no doubt in his mind that he's one of the best in the world.
My biggest problem with Shogun is going to be his pride, Shogun doesn't know when to stop and he never will know when to stop, and that's the biggest weapon I think that Shogun brings that I need to worry about more than technique etc. No matter what I throw at him he's coming, if I don't put Shogun away or damn near kill him he's coming."
Quick type up of it, seems almost in awe of Shogun which of course any fight fan would be but, Vera is FIGHTING him. Like I said, I'll reserve judgement. Shogun's statement to this is that it could just be a trap to take Vera lightly.
"I'm fighting Shogun, for sure I'm nervous, you gotta be kind of nervous when you're fighting Shogun but my biggest concern with Shogun is his pride. There is no fear in Shogun, there is no he's too tired, there's no questioning whether he's good or not, there's no doubt in his mind that he's one of the best in the world.
My biggest problem with Shogun is going to be his pride, Shogun doesn't know when to stop and he never will know when to stop, and that's the biggest weapon I think that Shogun brings that I need to worry about more than technique etc. No matter what I throw at him he's coming, if I don't put Shogun away or damn near kill him he's coming."
Quick type up of it, seems almost in awe of Shogun which of course any fight fan would be but, Vera is FIGHTING him. Like I said, I'll reserve judgement. Shogun's statement to this is that it could just be a trap to take Vera lightly.
Yeah sure he probably tapped to strikes in the Jones fight, but anyone that wants to question his heart and determination after the Henderson fight is just a hater.
I'm not going to look too much into this. I think Vera is just very appreciative of this chance, and when you are in that state of mind and humbled, appreciative, a person generally is more kind/complimentary than he would be if he had earned it and knew he deserved it.
I think he will fight this fight the same way he would regardless of how he got it, which is to survive by the best ability while having his face destroyed.
I tend to agree with the first part. This is a guy who knows he's in a hole, and knows he has a tough climb ahead of him if he ever wants to get out of it.
Not so sure about the second part. I favor Shogun, but I think Vera has a bigger chance than you give him credit for. Vera seems to be suffering from hype backlash. He was never as good as the UFC made him out to be, but he's not as bad as a lot of the fans seem to think he is either.
I don't mean to question Shogun's heart. I just think Vera is building him up some in his own mind.
The main thing I got from this and other interviews is: Brandon Vera is clearly scared. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Fear is very powerful. I'm barely capable of hurting someone unless I'm afraid. The more afraid I am the more I'm capable of. If Vera is like that then he just might fight the fight of his life.
Read this Tyson quote somewhere, in relation to Vera on some MMA site yesterday (If I remember correctly anyways...)
“Fear is your best friend or your worst enemy. It's like fire. If you can control it, it can cook for you; it can heat your house. If you can't control it, it will burn everything around you and destroy you. If you can control your fear, it makes you more alert, like a deer coming across the lawn.”
I think that Vera has matured as a fighter. He has said it before himself, he changed as a fighter when he had to make a choice to either tap or keep fighting for his career. He admires shogun for his determination and willingness to put it all on the line. He is not open about it, but I think that he acknowledges that he has quit before in fights and he is determined to not do it again.
So I finally watched the video as well as the other one, I think people are reading too much into Vera. At worst he has some nervous jitters, but if I was about to fight after a year of inactivity I'm sure I would too. I think Vera looks ready to get the fight started.
Vera sounds like he knows he has a rough road ahead of him. There's nothing wrong with that imo. He had the exact opposite attitude before the Jones fight and we saw how that turned out.
He hasn't had a very good run here lately but he says he's got his mind right and that is a big variable in anything you do. Hopefully he comes out and performs well.
Anyone else laugh at Vera talking about getting his mind right and saying that is head was in pieces, then he got his mind right and put his head back together. The whole time all I could think was "Was this after the Jones fight?"
I don't think anyone is arguing that Shogun isn't a great fighter. But until recently he hasn't been on the receiving end of many beatings(relatively speaking). Everyone's body has an expiration date.
His brother took a serious beatdown from kharatop then lost a bad decision war with Rampage (sound familiar?) and he was never the same. He kept fighting and won a few but the energizer bunny has never been seen again.
Vera talks like he's the terminator/boogyman
I think fear is going to motivate Vera to kick his head off his shoulders.
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