Stick a Fork In Brandon Vera - He's Done in the UFC!

Last night's decision loss against Keith Jardine marked Brandon Vera's fourth straight disappointing performance inside the octagon, and my spidey sense tells me that he could be finished in the UFC, at least for the time being. Brandon's back has been up against the wall for a while now, which combined with his high salary makes him a good candidate for a temporary exodus from the UFC.

Given his heritage, Brandon is most definitely part of the UFC's efforts to break into Southeast Asia, notably the Philippines, and he's a marketable guy with a good personality. But he's running out of excuses for his uninspired performances. With Sylva it was a broken hand. With Werdum it was a bad ref stoppage. With Reese Andy it was the first weight cut to 205.

We can reasonably say that Jardine is a bad style match-up for just about anyone, but let's remember that Jardine hurt his leg in the second round. That should have given Brandon the edge to take the second and third rounds, and the decision victory.

I don't think the UFC should necessarily cut Brandon permanently. But it might not be the worst idea to suggest a break from the UFC to compete in a few bouts in smaller promotions before coming back. Because with a contract paying him $100,000 to show up and $100,000 to win, giving Brandon chance after chance to prove himself is a slap in the face to guys who go out and give it all for 10 grand and a shot at the big time.