UFC Tears Down the Pay Wall Again: Jones and Vera to Brawl on Cable Sunday

Share on Facebook posted 03-15-10 by Jerry Del Priore

The UFC, looking to bring its gladiatorial mayhem to a wider audience, will make its non-pay-per-view debut on Versus Sunday, March 21 in Broomfield, Colorado. In the main event, Jon “Bones” Jones will face Brandon “The Truth” Vera in a light heavyweight match-up.

Vera on Vera: You Can’t Handle “The Truth”

Vera, who lost to Randy Couture in the main event of UFC 105, is an exceptional grappler. He starred as a high-school wrestler, earning a four-year athletic scholarship to Old Dominion University before dropping out after a year and a half to enlist in the U.S. Air Force. Still, Vera (11-4-0) would prefer to keep the fight vertical, allowing him to deploy his potent striking skills: lethal kicks, deadly knees, and bone-rattling elbows drawn from his Muay Thai and Brazilian jiujitsu tool box. Although many MMA observers believe Vera won’t be able to withstand Jones’s assault if the match goes to the mat, the 32-year-old Vera insists, to paraphrase Jack Nicholson, that Jones can’t handle “The Truth”! Demonstrating upfront that he clearly has the more limber and aggressive mouth of the two fighters, Vera promised MMAWeekly.com that he’ll make his opponent tap if they go to the ground.

Vera discussed his strategy against Jones at Sherdog:

“The only thing that we can really find is his inexperience. His game is tight. His striking is good. His defense works good. We’ve been studying him for a while, and his biggest weakness is his inexperience. That’s the only X-factor in this game. Everything else is almost like a seasoned vet.”

The Bare Bones: Jones’ Rising UFC Star

The 6-foot-4 Jones (9-1-0) went down in defeat to Matt Hamill in his last bout on The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 due to a disqualification. His use of multiple illegal 12-to-6 elbow drops forced the ref to call the match (the modified rules of MMA prohibit downward elbow strikes). But Jones had been dominating the fight up until that point. A former JUCO national Greco-Roman wrestling champ at Iowa Central Community College, he brings superior wrestling skills to the Octagon. Plus, his exceptional jiujitsu and Muay Thai abilities are more than capable of countering Vera’s striking arsenal.

Vera is undeservedly cocky at times, and although he’s a good fighter and deadly striker, he hasn’t really beat anyone top-notch at this point; he couldn’t take Randy Couture. Jones will outclass Vera in grappling, and should have no trouble getting him to ground, where he will wear out Vera over time. For my money, Jones is a no-nonsense fighter, while Vera’s most established weapons at this point in his career are his trash-talking vocal chords.

The UFC views Jones, 22, as one of its most promising fighters, a good bet to become one of the best and most popular competitors in the entire sport over the next decade. That said, anything can happen in the UFC … and usually does.

Now … let the blood hit canvas.