FACEBOOK TWITTER RSS APP PODCAST Opinion & Analysis : Staff Columnists BENT: UFC 102 Previews and Predictions - Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

Aug 26, 2009 - 2:49:47 PM
By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist
Matt Hamill was originally slated to tussle with Brandon Vera, but a torn meniscus suffered in training put "The Hammer" on the shelf. In his place steps "The Polish Experiment" Krzysztof Soszynski, who will be making his fourth appearance in the UFC after having been a part of 'The Ultimate Fighter 8'. Soszynski, of course, did not win the competition, but so far he has been positioned as the biggest star from the season; and four fights in the Octagon coupled with a series of ads for "Skin" and we have a fighter who is known for everything except beating top competition in the UFC. Well, Brandon Vera is not necessarily at the top of the food chain, but there was a time when he was on the fast track to success and an eventual spot at the head of the table. Vera is looking to prove he is still the real deal and Soszynski is looking to prove he is for real. Vera vs. Hamill was and still is the better fight but this one isn't exactly horrible, and as such it is set to open the PPV broadcast of UFC 102.

Brandon Vera is a 31 yr. old UFC Light Heavyweight contender who was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia and currently fights out of San Diego, California. Vera's father is Filipino and as such, Brandon is half-Filipino and half-Italian-American due to his mother's ethnic background. Brandon Vera held a public work out at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City which drew over 4,000 fans and the UFC understands quite well just how marketable Vera could be in the Phillipines, and especially so when the promotion holds an event there in the next year or so. In much the same way that Georges St. Pierre is valuable to a card in Canada and Michael Bisping is to one in the United Kingdom, so too is Vera to the Phillipines. He will not be valuable without wins, though. "The Truth" needs a victory over Soszynski and that is no lie.

Brandon Vera's career record stands at 10 wins against 3 losses with 7 wins coming by way of KO and 1 by submission. Vera was once a heavyweight prospect who could boast of victories over Frank Mir and Assuerio Silva, but has since made perhaps the smartest move of his career by cutting the weight and competing at light heavyweight. The Mir he defeated was a bloated, shell of the man who was destroyed by Brock Lesnar, but the Frank Mir at UFC 100 would have walked through Brandon Vera without so much as blinking an eye. Of course, Vera was one of the most vocal fighters who opposed the signing of Brock Lesnar and his subsequently huge paydays, which makes me wonder if he would have the balls to make such a statement today. The statement he needs to make is, of course, now at light heavyweight, and he is a safe distance from Lesnar if he would like to again opine on the disparity of the size of their paychecks.

Vera sports a 2-1 record at light heavyweight with his wins coming over Reese Andy and Mike Patt and the one loss coming at the hands of Keith Jardine. Vera's bouts with Andy and Jardine are best kept in the vault as these were two of the most dreadful bouts to watch, and not necessarily brilliant displays of technical ability. This did change for Brandon when he defeated Patt as perhaps the move to the preliminary portion of the PPV card stoked his competitive fires and forced him to make a statement. He stopped Patt in the 2nd round and was awarded the TKO victory due to his vicious leg kicks.

Brandon Vera had finally arrived and made good on his promise it would seem. He was now comfortable at 205 lbs. and exhibited the aggression necessary to remain on the main card and in the hearts of fans watching worldwide. Most of all, he won and won in a convincing manner. Vera is a fight or two away from proving his value, and while a bout with Hamill may have been a tougher test, facing Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 102 in a bout which will move one of them up and send the other one back to the prelims.

Krzysztof Soszynski is a 32 yr. old UFC light heavyweight hopeful who was born and raised in Stalowa Wola, Poland before moving to Winnipeg, Canada at the age of 10. With his family, of course, as a 10 yr. old can typically not pick up and run off, unless they are Elijah Wood in the 1994 film 'North'. Anyhow, young Soszynski and his family made their home in Canada and the boy played football and soccer at the high school level before turning to bodybuilding and pro wrestling. Bodybuilding and pro wrestling do go together quite well, but of course for reasons we aren't going to discuss here. At any rate, Soszynski was shown a few Jiu-Jitsu moves and it was off to the races for him as he decided to try his hand at mixed martial arts.

Krzysztof Soszynski currently trains as a member of the vaunted Team Quest and came to be known to most fans by way of his having been a member of the cast of 'The Ultimate Fighter 8'. Soszynski was known for his pranks and for abilities inside of the Octagon as he shocked most who imagined he was just a wrestler or a striker. He famously shouted that he had Jiu-Jitsu too following his submission victory over Kyle Kingsbury, and he was indeed one of the favorites to win before getting submitted by eventual runner-up Vinny Magalhaes.

Soszynski was generally just a very likable guy on a season packed with some very unlikable fighters and really came across as the one guy you wouldn't mind shaking hands with or eating food he has prepared. He has since made the most of his opportunity, and for not winning the competition has nearly positioned himself better than any of the recent winners. He will be fighting for the fourth time since December and has so far won all of his bouts convincingly, and now gets his biggest opportunity of all in facing Brandon Vera on the main card.

Soszynski's career record stands at 18 wins against 8 losses with 6 wins coming by KO and 9 by way of submission. Krzysztof was known for the kimura as he rattled off three straight wins thanks to the submission, two of which were his first official bouts for the UFC. Soszynski is coming off of a 1st round KO of Andre Gusmao at UFC 98, and his notable career wins have come at the expense of Dan Christison, Shane Primm and Brian Stann. His losses have been to Chris Tuchscherer, Matt Horwich, Martin Desilets, Brian Schall, Ben Rothwell (twice), Mike Whitehead, and Reese Andy. Soszynski is an IFL veteran who has loads of experience but has fallen short when forced to step up to another level of competition. He takes a huge leap at UFC 102 to say the very least.

Bent's Prediction: Brandon Vera by 2nd Round TKO

Soszynski is a nice enough guy and a solid hand, but he just isn't on Vera's level at all. Soszynski has had fits with strong wrestlers throughout his career, and while Vera isn't a wrestler, he is strong and very quick to boot. If Brandon Vera is in shape, this one should be a walk in the park for him and a strong statement. The benefit to beating Soszynski is that to most fans it will appear as if Vera has beaten a "name" opponent, but the reality is that his "name" is much bigger than his talent.

Think of this one as Johny Hendricks pounding Amir Sadollah and getting a victory over a "name" opponent on a UFC PPV. This is what Brandon Vera will be doing as he looks good and scores a convincing victory on the main card and does the same thing he did to Mike Patt, except this time to an opponent that the fans actually know. Matt Hamill would have made for a great fight and really tested the new and improved Vera, so maybe once this one is done that fight can still be made in the future.

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