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By Scoop Malinowski

MMAMemories.com: A few hardcore MMA fans know your background as far as how you got into MMA, but most casual fans really don’t know your entire story. How did you end up meeting your BJJ trainer, Lloyd Irvin, and end up in the fight game?

Brandon Vera: “We met at a tournament in New Jersey, I’d say in around 2002 maybe. And I didn’t have no one training with me or working with me. He approached me and told me I was doing good things and that I should go forward. We stayed in contact and it just grew from there.”

MMAMemories.com: Your wife, Kerry, was featured in the second season of Fight Girls on Oxygen. How did the show change her life and maybe your life in terms of becoming more popular and well-known in the mainstream culture?

Brandon Vera: “[Laughs and then asks his wife]…Did it change your life? …No, it didn’t really change our lives.”

MMAMemories.com: You are currently training at the Alliance Training Center in Chula Vista. You teach an advanced MMA class there as well. What is like to be an instructor/trainer and has it changed the way you look at your skill set in MMA?

Brandon Vera: “No sir, I’ve always been an instructor, ever since I started, from day one. I love it. I love the members, I love teaching. It’s hard to explain how it is there. The best way is we have a deejay spinning music during classes.”

MMAMemories.com: What exactly happened between you and your former manager Mark Dion? Why was there a break-up between the two of you? What is your relationship like right now with the UFC?

Brandon Vera: “We have no relationship. He’s suing everybody. He’s suing everybody I know from the UFC and me. He’s a piece of ****. My relationship with the UFC is awesome. I’m cool. I talked with Dana a couple of times last week on the phone.”

MMAMemories.com: UFC’s 205-pound division right now is loaded with talented fighters like Quinton Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Machida, and Chuck Liddell. You are jumping right into the shark tank with these guys. What was the reasoning behind your move to go down from heavyweight to light heavyweight, given that it seems the depth in talent in the heavyweight weight class seems thinner?

Brandon Vera: “The UFC asked me to drop, they said I can fight right away if I did. That was pretty much it.”

MMAMemories.com: Despite the recent ups and downs in your career, you seem to have very loyal fan support both online and with casual fans who react to you like a major superstar at UFC events. Is there any message you would like to give to your fans regarding the direction of your career and your overall philosophy on where you fit onto the MMA landscape?

Brandon Vera: “Tell them, Thank You. Thank you very much for your support. I really appreciate it. There’s always going to be ups and downs, that’s the way it is. I remember my promise to attain both belts at the same time (UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight). It doesn’t matter how long it takes. It’s only a matter of time. We’ll get there.”

Brandon Vera returns to action live on UFC fight night on Saturday, July 19th at 9PM ET/ 6PM PT on Spike TV.