(Mo’ money, mo’ unfulfilled expectations.)
You can’t say Dana White didn’t warn Brandon Vera. His comments before UFC 89 suggested that it was time for “The Truth” to justify his high price tag. He didn’t, and so White is turning up the heat on him with remarks like these:
“I’m not seeing what I expected from Brandon Vera. It’s like he’s lost something. He doesn’t have that killer instinct since he took that year off. He doesn’t go after people. He used to be so cocky. He wanted to fight everybody.
“We tried to get him on one of the seasons of The Ultimate Fighter and he turned that down and said he wanted to fight Chuck Liddell and that he would knock him out. I hear that seven days a week so I told him to go on TUF and we’d find out how good he was.
“He was good. He used to walk through heavyweights earlier in his career. But he took a year off and we had all the issues with his contract and he hasn’t been the same since. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
It’s not exactly shocking to hear Dana White go after a guy who held him over the coals in contract negotiations and has since failed to live up to expectations. In a way, it seems justified. The UFC agreed to his six-figure demands based on his past performances and what they saw as his future potential. Lately he’s looked like a bad investment.
But being badmouthed in public by your boss, both before and after the fight, that’s got to sting. Especially when he goes on to compare you unfavorably to other guys who lost on the same night:
“If you look at Sam Stout – although he lost, he looked great. He came out and fought hard and you always know what to expect from him.
“And Paul Taylor’s one of those guys who goes for it the whole fight. He was trying to take Chris out even in the last 20 seconds. He’s a great kid and a tough guy and we love having him in the UFC.”
Seems like the message to Brandon Vera is: if you’re going to lose, can’t you at least lose like these other guys? It’s kind of like when your parents ask why you can’t be more like your older brother who may be in prison, but at least he got his GED and is studying to be a tattoo artist. That bastard. Thinks he’s so great.
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Comments
Sun, 10/19/08 - 04:35
I hate Dana, but I can't blame him here. Jardine make $10 K a fight. Vera make $100 K. If you are getting paid 5 x's the amount of someone else, you better fight like it.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 04:41
You're right in principle, Jim, but that's some fuzzy math...
Sun, 10/19/08 - 04:49
absolutely right jim, if vera is gunna walk away with a paycheck 5x as much as jardine (10,000 x 5 = 100,000) then he should also have 5x the skill level and excitement. also, why are bonuses 10 x ( 60,000/10= 40 000) less in a U.K show than they are at a regular show? ( 40,000 as opposed to 60,000)
Sun, 10/19/08 - 04:52
Dana is making a very fair point about Vera. However, I would like him to make an equal point about Jardine's gameplan, as either man could have easily won that boring decision. And anyone who thinks Jardine only makes $10K a fight is a moron! Jardine says he has no complaints, so stop complaining for him. Even an average fighter like Joe Riggs said he made nearly three times more fighting for the UFC than anywhere else, and said in 2006 he made nearly $300K that year from fighting for the UFC. And that was back when the UFC wasn't paying nearly as high as they are now, and without the large bonuses. That is also a lot more than his reported per fight income. $300K for a very average/below average pro fighter is not that bad. That is pretty close league minimum in the NFL, which is a much more established sport, and a much more competitive league to get in to (in terms of overall people that try to compete in football vs. MMA, not in overall difficulty of the sports). If a guy like Riggs can make $300K, guaranteed Jardine is making more than $10K a fight.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 04:54
lol
Sun, 10/19/08 - 04:57
lol @ the math stuff not at the money Imbecile. Yea, people tend to forget about sponsorship money, which is where even the highest paid athletes make all their dough. LeBron makes a grip of cash from his Cleveland salary, but even more from Nike.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 04:58
10000 x 5 does not equal 100,000. it equals 50,000
Sun, 10/19/08 - 04:58
yea jardine makes 10K to show and 10K to win while vera gets 100K to fight and 100K to win.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 04:58
So Vera is overpaid and doesn't like to fight anymore, they could still give Jardine a raise...or one of those "bonuses" we hear so much about. I'd rather pay The Dean (as long as the nipple twisting stops...seriously...) than complain about Vera's lack of performance which we all could see coming.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 05:18
I said it before and will keep saying it.... Vera and Soko are way overhyped... I have not seen anything out of either fighter that gets me excited that they are fighting. Maybe they should fight each other in a loser leaves town type of deal.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 05:21
I refuse to feel sorry for Vera. And neither should you. He's got his money and the UFC has what appears to be a very lukewarm, mediocre LHW with no PPV pull.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 05:27
I thought 100,000 x 5 = 5, because 100,000 has a one in it...
Sun, 10/19/08 - 05:32
Vera simply fails to impress, especially considering all the talk. Dana is spot on.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 05:41
Vera's past success lies in the clinch. He made little to no effort to go there in that fight.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 05:41
Much of Vera's past success lies in the clinch. He made little to no effort to go there in that fight.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 05:52
I can't believe that Vera was talking about tellin Dana White he wanted a raise. I believe Dana should talk to Vera about the raise & get an amount,then give that raise to the Dean of Mean instead. That would be even a better slap in the face for Vera.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 05:57
I hope Jardine makes $10 a fight. He sucks he is just as much to blame for that lame fight as brandon vera. The fight sucked, neither did anything we are all lucky it was free. They are both overpaid neither displayed any special talent or skill. And neither is aggresive. It appears that the machida factor is changing everyones gameplans. They are all trying to outpoint the other person come out uninjured and leave it to the judges. If this continues then it looks like the UFC is going to be as exciting as the Oreo Double Stuff League.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 06:28
BRING YELLOW CARDS TO THE UFC!!!!!!!!!
Sun, 10/19/08 - 06:43
mmmmmmmmm....... double stuff
Sun, 10/19/08 - 06:46
Just FYI, Jardine makes more than 10K per fight, he is no longer on his TUF contract according to an interview done just before UFC 89.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 06:51
I agree with just about all the comments. I definitely agree with the post about no one getting on Jardine's case. He was lucky to get the W. That was a piss poor performance BY BOTH fighters. What would people be saying if Cecil P. was a judge If Vera would of got the nod????
Sun, 10/19/08 - 06:55
I'm with Juan Blanco. Pull the "Bushido" move and give fighters yellow cards for inactivity. I read somewhere that each one of those cards also represented a pay cut. I'm not saying do this for every fight, but I'm sure the UFC knows when it needs to be done. Some fighters of course are submission artists and probably wouldn't be fighting on those nights, but other times when you got Machida vs Griffin it's time to start pulling out the yellow cards.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 07:34
Brandon fought like his last 2 fights....He fought not to lose...NOT to win. If that makes any sense, he plainly was so damn scared to let his hands go, he rather let the judges decide his fate.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 07:55
DW is right on point here. He needs to go further in his explaination. Records are great and all, but the UFC wants exciting fights. There are a number of fighters who have at one time or another given that "fight not to lose" performance. Off the top of my head, Tim Silvia, Forrest Griffin, and Andre Arlovsky have all given us this type of performance at least one time. Lyota Machida and Bisping have the "elusive" or "counter punch" style too. The UFC rewards the exciting fighters. The Lidel v. Taylor fight was awesome. Or how about Clay Guida Vs. Huerta, or Leonard Garcia v. Huerta? Those wern't losers in those fights. Nothing is worse for the fans than to have a fighter like Vera unbloodied with plenty of gas left in the tank mentally lose a fight by lack of aggression.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 08:24
here is the math. he is getting paid 5X more than him in this fight. jardine 10K to fight, 10K to win = 20K vera, 100K to fight, 100K to win = 100K vera made 5x as much as jardine for the fight.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 09:24
BTW, did anyone else notice that Keith Jardine was being sponsored by Brandon Vera's former manager, Mark Dion. On the back of Keith Jardine's shorts it said "CityBoxing.com" advertising the gym operated by Mark Dion in San Diego, which is Vera's former gym. Remember, Dion is the douche responsible for Vera's year-long hiatus and losing out on a HW title shot (also the same douche that is responsible for sinking KJ Noons' career with EliteXC, though I'm sure Jared Shaw is partly responsible in some way.) So Dion was advertising on the back of Jardine's shorts. I don't really have a point... just thought it was funny, and wanted to know if anyone else noticed it.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 09:28
Guaranteed that Brandon "The Goof" Vera is on a Fight Night or UFC undercard for his next fight. Hes done.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 10:13
Maybe Vera's trainer/coach would of done a better job.
Sun, 10/19/08 - 11:52
What the fuck is it with jardines punching? I cant fucken stand when he throws those gay flurries! He looks like Carlton doing his fresh prince dance on meth!
Mon, 10/20/08 - 06:09
Sunny lets do the math..Jardines flurries + your face = you getting knocked out so pipe down.
Mon, 10/20/08 - 06:09
Sunny lets do the math..Jardines flurries + your face = you getting knocked out so pipe down.
Mon, 10/20/08 - 07:03
I FUCKING HATE KEITH JAR"FENE". HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO TITTY TWIST THE RIGHT WAY! I DONT THINK HE IS EVEN WORTH THE 10K. HE JUST PLAIN SUCKS. I CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT IN LINE TO FUCKING DESTROY HIM! BTW, BRANDON WAS VERY ANNOYING TO WATCH. HE ALMOST GOT KTFO AND ACTED LIKE A BITCH AFTER FOR TWO MORE ROUNDS.
Mon, 10/20/08 - 08:38
im from the philippines where they want to promote Vera.and in our country heart not the skills comes first.and im sure a lot of filipinos would not buy vera headlining over here..might as well bring chuck lidell...or wandarlei..at least they come to fight..what the UFC got from Vera is KARMA...they kicked out Dion...and Vera went along with them...so they both deserve each other haha..dana needs to put it plainly--ITS called BAD INVESTMENT
Mon, 10/20/08 - 05:06
Vera is a complete DOUCHE! He seems to have Phill Baroni syndrome were he always talks about how great he is even though he is on the losing end. I wish his cage skills are as great as his mouth.
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