Bloody Elbow

UFC light heavyweight Brandon Vera has been waiting for a while now to get a second shot at Thiago Silva. Silva has been out for a year on suspension, and when Vera was offered the rematch as the main event of a scheduled May 15th UFC card, he jumped at the chance. But it turns out he jumped way too quickly and he isn't able to fight after all. He explained everything in a video he posted on his Facebook page. Here's what he has to say:

"Hey everybody, it's Brandon "The Truth" Vera here. I wanted to clear up some stuff, and apologize. I've been bugging my manager, I've been bugging Joe Silva and the UFC, so as soon as Thiago Silva's suspension was over and he was available, I would like to be the first one to fight him and get back in there with him. Kind of a welcome back thing. Finally the fight came, Joe said the fight can happen May 15th. My manager told me the fight is happening May 15th...and without thinking, without talking to my coaches, without talking to my doctors, I verbally said 'Yes, I'm down for the fight, let's do this, let's get it done. I'm in.' Super excited, hung up the phone, promptly went on a run, and got super excited.

The next morning I went to my doctors after training and told my doctors that I was planning on fighting May 15th, and...everybody looked at me like I was crazy. They said there's no way I'll be ready by then, and I need to focus on getting better. So I sat down and was thinking 'Yeah, maybe those guys are right.' So I didn't check with my doctors, I didn't check with my coaches. I apologize to both you guys. I apologize to Joe Silva and my manager Matt Stansell. I apologize to my fans. I still wanna fight you bad Thiago, Thiago, however you say your name juice monkey. I still wanna fight you bad. So whenever you're ready, whenever I'm healthy enough, I'm your huckleberry."

Back at UFC 125, Silva dominated Vera in a unanimous decision win that led to Vera getting released. Silva then submitted a false urine sample, thinking he would test positive for illegal substances, and got caught by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. This led to the fight being switched to a no-contest, Silva got suspended, and Vera got a reprieve from his release. Vera met Eliot Marshall at UFC 137 and picked up a decision win, but injured his arm in the process. This arm injury is what is keeping him out of the fight.

So, Silva will likely get a new opponent for the 5/15 card and Vera will have to sit and wait on the sidelines until he heals up.