UFC 102 Vera vs. Soszynski – It’s Put Up or Shut Up for “The Truth”

There was a time when Brandon Vera was considered the proverbial “next big thing,” but by his own admission, he got a little too comfortable and didn’t pair his world-class talent with the type of talent it takes to succeed on the big stage.

Vera said he was used to only training about “two times a day,” but now he’s back in top-notch shape and ready to show his losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum as well as his impossibly boring debut at light heavyweight (after dropping from heavyweight) were flukes.

His opponent at UFC 102, Krzysztof Soszynski, is on a different career arc right now as he has won all three fights inside the Octagon and is just now making a name for himself.

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It’ll be a battle of finesse (well, Vera’s game is about as finesse as it can be in a sport where the goal is to inflict as much physical harm on your opponent as possible) against all-out aggression and physicality (Soszynski).

The Sportsbook has Vera as a respectable favorite with odds at -200 compared with +160 for the underdog Soszynski.

Many feel that this fight has the potential to be as close as any of the others at UFC 102 in Portland, Oregon because of the clash in styles.

Vera is a rangy muay thai guy who likes to use the clinch game whenever possible along with razor-sharp knees and leg kicks. His fight against Michael Patt at UFC 96 was a brutal clinic in the leg kick game as Vera kicked Patt so often and so hard that he began limping around like a 90-year old man at the man as the crowd waited on pins and needles for Vera’s finishing blow.

Vera ultimately had no choice but to chop Patt down with a couple more leg kicks that left him gasping in pain on the Octagon canvas and more than 10,000 people feeling downright sorry for Patt.

Soszynski on the other hand is one of the more aggressive UFC fighters in the light heavyweight division, which is saying a lot considering the stacked roster of brawlers in the weight class. He likes to get in close, maybe clinch a little, and throw bombs, and his submission game is also excellent.

Soszynski has the skill to pull off a wide variety of jiu-jitsu finishers, but 9 times out of 10, he’s coming right at you with his trademark kimura. He’s become so well-versed at it and strong with that it can be hard for even the most seasoned BJJ fighters to deal with at times.

This is another fight that could go either way, but in the end, expect Vera’s athleticism and more varied attack to pave the way for a big win at UFC 102.

The pick: Vera (-200) by decision