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MANILA, Philippines – Brandon Vera has joined fellow Filipino-American stalwart Mark Muñoz as part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 200 greatest fighters of all time.
As part of the lead-up to the UFC 200 pay-per-view event on July 9, the promotion has compiled a list of fighters who carved a significant niche in the league.
Determined by a panel of experts and the overall consensus of UFC fans, the partial results were revealed through a special 6-part countdown series that started to air on Thursday, June 2.
Vera entered the elite cast and occupied the number 189 seat, ahead of other notable names such as David “Tank” Abbott, Liz Carmouche, Marcus Davis, Dennis Siver, Renzo Gracie and Ryo Chonan.
Meanwhile, Muñoz was 10 spots higher than Vera as he was ranked No. 179 on the list.
Vera surprisingly parted ways with the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization in June 2014.
The 38-year-old native of San Diego, California joined the UFC in October 2005 as a heavily-hyped heavyweight prospect, finishing 7 of his 8 opponents, including former UFC titleholder Frank Mir.
Vera was expected to vie for the UFC heavyweight strap after an impressive 8-0 winning streak, but a yearlong contract dispute spoiled his plans for a championship opportunity.
By the time it was resolved, Vera was off his game and instantly dropped two disappointing setbacks to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum.
Vera then elected to move down to light heavyweight, but the outcomes were mixed as he came up short against the likes of Jon Jones, Randy Couture, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Keith Jardine.
The last time that Vera was seen inside the Octagon was when he yielded to Ben Rothwell by third-round technical knockout at UFC 164 in 2013.
A month after leaving the UFC, Vera directed his career-path to ONE Championship, a Singapore-based MMA promotion which has Ben Askren, Bibiano Fernandes and Shinya Aoki in its roster.
Vera made his promotional debut in December 2014 by stopping Ukrainian heavyweight Igor Subora in the first round with a counter left hand and follow-up soccer kicks.
The 6-foot-2 Alliance MMA representative became the inaugural ONE heavyweight champion by knocking out Paul Cheng in just 26 seconds with a head kick this past December. – Rappler.com
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