BRANDON VERA

ATTRIBUTES

OFFENSIVE SKILLS

DEFENSIVE SKILLS

ULTIMATE TECHNIQUES

RIGHT SWINGING ELBOW

Level 2—Muay Thai Clinch, Offense

The Muay Thai Clinch is Brandon Vera’s strongest position, and this technique is a powerful Level 2 that can cut your opponent.

RIGHT REAR LEG KNEE

Level 2—Muay Thai Clinch, Offense

This technique is set up with a strong whip from the clinch. Use a technique minor transition to whip your opponent, and press the Right Kick button on the move to execute this powerful knee.

SWITCH LEFT HEAD KICK

Level 2—Both Standing, Striking Range

Vera’s powerful head kicks are easy to whip out and strike with great force to the head.

STRENGTHS

• Muay Thai

• Well rounded

• Speed

Brandon “The Truth” Vera is in the top tier of Muay Thai fighters in the game.

Work stand-up and stay out in kicking range to take advantage of his length, but shoot in for the clinch to deal your serious damage.

Especially against slippery light heavy- weights like Lyoto Machida, pulling from Vera’s Level 2 techniques in the clinch will give you the advantage.

He wants to stand and bang, and the eight weapons of Muay Thai (hands, feet, knees, and elbows) are at your disposal.

Mix up strikes in the clinch and defend against your opponent’s transitions to maintain control.

WEAKNESSES

• Ground striking

• Wrestling

• Submissions

Vera’s biggest weakness lies in his difficulty controlling opponents on the ground, and he struggles to put together ground-and- pound to wear them down.

He was famously knocked out by a Jon Jones elbow from the bottom, and this is reflected in his Ground Top Grapple ratings in the low 60s.

He’s not going to damage you on the ground or win too many submission battles, so taking Vera down to the mat is your best bet.

If you get on top, ground-and-pound him and keep control, but you can hurt him from the bottom, too, if he struggles to dominant position.