That’s the Truth

For an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) warrior, Brandon (The Truth) Vera came across as a friendly guy during a recent interview at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel mezzanine.

I expected a gruff, grizzled gladiator with a permanent scowl on his face and tattoos all over his body. Instead, I was introduced to a good-natured fellow, talking Tagalog, cracking jokes and enjoying the unusual questions I threw his way. The tattoos on his back of ancient Filipino writing were covered by his shirt.

Beside him was Loren Mack who’s involved in UFC’s worldwide TV coverage. And seated nearby was UFC’s Jaime Pollack.

Vera, 30, is half-Filipino, half-Italian and was born in Norfolk, Virginia. His father Ernesto is a full-blooded Filipino who migrated to the US when he was 21. His mother Paula is Italian. His parents split up before he turned three. His father remarried a Filipina, Amelia Guerra, and he grew up in a totally Filipino environment – which explains why he speaks fluent Tagalog, loves Filipino food and embraces Filipino values. 

In all, he has nine brothers and sisters. Vera doesn’t distinguish who are his half-brothers and half-sisters although he mentioned he has only a full-sister. As a boy, he helped out in his father’s Chinese restaurant, sweeping floors, washing dishes, cooking, cutting onions, waiting on tables and counting cash in the register.

I asked how different is the discipline in training as a mixed martial arts fighter and as a boxer.

“I’m sure the discipline is the same but it goes beyond conditioning because in mixed martial arts, we do all kinds of things like muay Thai, jiu jitsu, judo and wrestling,” he replied. “We don’t only use our hands, like in boxing, but also our feet and different parts of the body.”

Vera said he’s lucky to be married to a kickboxer and professional fighter. 

“Kerry understands what a fighter goes through when he trains,” he said. “She’s still active as a fighter. We don’t have any kids yet. We don’t plan to raise a family until I’m ready to retire. I can’t see myself playing with my son, throwing a football, and I’m thinking I can’t overdo it because I’ve got a fight coming up. I want to give my all to my kids. I want to enjoy them and I can only do that when I’m retired.”

Vera said he’s got five to eight more years of fighting left. There’s still so much to aspire for – like the heavyweight and lightheavyweight titles he’s determined to win within a year.

“When you give yourself a deadline, you usually add three more years after that,” he chuckled. “Look at Chuck Lidell. He’s 37 and he’s still doing it in the octagon.”

Vera’s eyes brightened up when I asked about his favorite hobby.

“My hobby is racing remote control cars,” he said. “It’s a passion. I own eight cars, two of them electrically-powered. I race with my friends. Someday, I’d like to repair my own cars but now, I don’t have time for that so I just bring my cars over to Crazy Kevin’s shop in San Diego for fixing. I like big cars. Three of my favorites are two-wheel drives and I’ve got one that’s a four-wheel drive. The cars can go between 40 to 65 miles per hour.”

One of Vera’s friends is former IBF minimumweight champion Manny Melchor, a Filipino who’s a boxing trainer in San Diego. They used to go to the same gym. “I learned some tricks from Manny,” said Vera. “We’ve done mitts together even if he’s only about 135 pounds and he used to fight at 105. I go to a different gym now so we hardly see each other but once in a while, we still get together.”

I bumped into Melchor in Las Vegas when Manny Pacquiao fought Juan Manuel Marquez last month and he introduced me to his second American wife Nicole. Melchor divorced his first wife, also an American. 

Vera said wherever he goes in the US, he looks for Filipino restaurants. One of his hangouts is Goodah! on Vermont Street in Los Angeles. Another is the newly opened Red Ribbon bakeshop in San Diego. Still another is Goldilock’s, also in San Diego.

Although he swears he now eats healthy, Vera said he’ll occasionally indulge on a halo-halo.

Vera said he had problems with his former manager Mark Dion and it led to almost a year’s layoff before his bout against Tim Sylvia in Connecticut last October. There was talk he would leave UFC because of his contractual disagreement. But in the end, UFC extended his contract to six more fights.

“When I was having problems with Dion, I told myself I should be fighting instead of watching other guys fighting in UFC,” said Vera. “There are cases now in court but I’ve got lawyers fighting for my rights so I’m covered. I’m grateful to UFC for giving me the chance to move on. I lost to Sylvia. That was my first loss ever. But that’s history. I’m not making excuses. I’m on track, mentally and physically, to start winning again and I’m determined to become the world champion.”

Vera’s next fight is against Fabricio Werdum in London on June 7. He began serious training for the bout in San Diego last Sunday.

Vera said he plans to train a week in San Diego, five weeks in Maryland and one week in London.

“I’ve visited London twice before and I’m excited to fight before British fans because they’re so knowledgeable about the sport,” he said. “The fans love UFC and know everything about the fighters, even our birthdays. I’ve got a tough opponent in Werdum who’s ranked fifth in the world. He’s a well-rounded fighter who’s always in shape. I’ve got to be in my best physical condition to beat him.”

Vera said he now weighs 235 pounds but expects to drop to 215 at the peak of his training. He’ll probably weigh 221 to 228 when it’s time to face Werdum.

As for education, Vera said he’s seriously considering to enroll in on-line classes. He dropped out of college at Old Dominion University after 1 1/2 years to join the US Air Force.

“I encourage everyone to try college but if it’s not for you, don’t push it,” he said. “I think 30 to 40 percent of graduates don’t really use what they learned in school in their jobs. I’d rather be my own boss, work on my own time. If you don’t try college, you wouldn’t know what you’re missing. School might work for you, who knows? I’ll surely encourage my children to go to school.”

Vera said he’d like to be UFC’s version of Pacquiao and bring pride to the Philippines. Filipino fans are looking forward to his fight against Werdum. Vera said he’ll win. Nobody doubts The Truth.