UFC heavyweight Brandon Vera (8-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who appeared on his way out of the UFC for supposed greener pastures, has agreed to stay in the organization and will sign a contact extension, according to
The Fight Network.
Vera, who appeared in the Sherdog.com Forums on Tuesday to announce he had fired his manager and given up his City Boxing affiliation, was rumored to be leaving the UFC after alleged contract offers from Elite Xtreme Combat and PRIDE Fighting Championships, among others. His EliteXC offer was rumored to be a seven-figure deal, though the dollar amounts were never substantiated.
The undefeated heavyweight had one fight remaining on his current contract, and it appeared the UFC was serious about shelfing him until the contract expired.
However, on the day Zuffa LLC announced its acquisition of PRIDE, Vera surfaced and announced he wanted to stay in the UFC.
From
The Fight Network:
Heavyweight contender Brandon Vera has signed an extension with the Ultimate Fighting Championship with plans to complete the remaining fight on his existing contract with the Las Vegas-based organization as soon as he is able to.
Vera’s existing contract slated his last fight take place in May, but the fighter was granted the extension by Zuffa LLC., owners of the UFC, to work out legal issues with his current management. Vera, 29, plans to renew his contract with the UFC afterwards.
“I want to stay with the UFC,” the Virginia native said today. “They have some of the best fighters in the world. It’s an amazing stable of fighters and the who’s who of the MMA world. ‘Cro Cop’ [Mirko Filipovic] is a big factor for me wanting to stay. He’s the number-two guy in the world.”
There were reports the UFC had been offering Vera upward of $200,000 fight on a new contract, a massive sum for a non-title-holder. Whether or not he actually negotiated those rates on his new deal probably won’t be known for quite some time, but there’s no doubting the UFC is willing to dish out big bucks for top young talent when it needs to.
Vera, who made his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 2 with a win over Fabiano Scherner, has also scored UFC wins over Justin Eilers (UFC 57), Assuerio Silva (UFC 60) and Frank Mir (UFC 65).
Vera had been considered the most likely contender to take former champion Tim Sylvia’s bout and was his one-time rumored opponent for UFC 68. With contract negotiations going nowhere, though, Randy Couture came out of retirement and won the belt instead. In that time, the UFC also signed Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, who quickly replaced Vera as the heavyweight division’s top contender.
Still, Vera remains one of the UFC’s top heavyweights, and on Tuesday, he said he was open to making a run at light heavyweight, as well.
For more about Vera, visit the
UFCjunkie.com archives.