I definitely aggree about the height advantage, it does give an edge to Vera. There is one thing that alot of people forget about Monson and it tends to get them destroyed: The man can lift anyone. He's taken down wrestlers that are bigger than him and jiu-jitsu fighters that should be able to tap him out.
The guy has a pain tolerance that is only rivaled by a few other heavyweights that I've watched, Cabbage and Tank to name a few. I think that Monson's raw strength plus experience with groundnpounding jiu-jitsu guys gives him an advantage.
Plus, the timing on Vera's kicks and his depth perception isn't always the best in the world. If he misses one of those kicks then Monson will just run in and nail him with a straight takedown before Vera gets his balance back completely.