This fight amounts to a loser leaves town bout for Brandon Vera. He’s considered by many to be the most underperforming fighter in the UFC and has lost three of his past five bouts. His two wins came against Reese Andy and Mike Patt, while the losses came at the hands of Tim Sylvia, Fabricio Werdum and Keith Jardine. From that list, we can assume that Vera excels against lower-tier guys but can’t get the job done against top competition.
In Soszynski, Vera is facing a fighter who isn’t considered top competition at this point in time, but is certainly a different level than Reese Andy or Mike Patt. Like Brock Lesnar, he’s a former pro wrestler and has a six-fight win streak going, with his latest victory being a TKO win over Andre Gusmao at UFC 98. He has fought five times in the past year, with three of those victories by kimura, a move which Soszynski loves greatly. He’s also very popular with UFC fans due to his stint on The Ultimate Fighter and will be a heavy crowd favorite during the fight.
Like many others, I’m completely underwhelmed by Vera’s recent performances in the cage. He seems listless and lacks the fire in his eyes that many of his fellow light heavyweights have. He’s going through the motions. I’m not saying that’s an indicator of his current performance level, but it’s enough for me to have confidence in Soszynski taking a step towards the next level with a win here.
PREDICTION: Krzysztof Soszynski by TKO
