Brandon Vera vs. Fabricio Werdum at UFC 85: Who do you think takes it?

I was talking with some friends today about upcoming matches. When we discussed Brandon Vera versus Fabricio Werdum, I immediately said that I thought Brandon would win. He has more tools and is a better fighter, overall. In fact, I think Brandon has a big advantage over many other fighters in his division--his stand up. A lot of the active Heavyweight fighters seem uncomfortable and ineffective when striking compared to Brandon. For the other fighters who have good stand up, I don't think their ground games are up to par. A lot of people say they'd like Brandon to drop to the Light Heavyweight division. But, who knows? Maybe Brandon knows he has a better chance of winning the title as a Heavyweight because he believes he has better overall skills.

With Couture gone, and Minotauro as the Interim Champion, I wish the Heavyweight division had some more high level and equally balanced fighters. I think Minotauro is great, but think his striking ability (or lack thereof?) might be a problem. I think Brandon will beat Werdum. If he does, I think he can take it all the way to the top. What do you think?

Thinking about being a well balanced fighter, I am amazed how so many people still believe that focusing on BJJ alone is enough for MMA, or that being a high ranking BJJ fighter guarantees that you'll be great at MMA. I don't know what makes people think this, but it still happens. It's been seen in the UFC and other events, time and time again, that fighters who are skilled in grappling only, are getting destroyed. All MMA fighters have to cross train in every aspect of the game. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to become a master at every single move, postition, strategy, etc., but I think there's a certain minimum skill level to attain. Afterwhich, I think one should not focus on strengthening their strengths, not necessarily strengthening their weaknesses.

Why do I say this? If you were weigh the costs and the benefits of strengthening your weaknesses versus strengthening your strengths, I think you'd recognize that you'd become a more effective fighter by doing the latter. Again, this all assumes you have a certain minimum skill level in all areas of the MMA game (if you're a pro fighter, the level would be higher than an amatuer, of course). Once you have reached that minimum level in your weak areas, your strengths will "kick in" to offset your weaknesses. It might be easier to use an example.

Let's take a grappling example to convey my point, although this applies to takedowns, striking or other areas. Imagine that you are great at playing half guard while always on your right side, and that you are horrible when you use the position lying on your left side. Have you ever noticed that because of your strengths (half guard or other skills), you can generally "make" your opponent fall into a position that allows you to play while on your right (strong) side. If for some reason your opponent forces you to play on your left side, you have that minimum level of skill on your weak side/area, combined with your strengths, that you use to move yourself into a stronger position.

This doesn't mean that you should never work your weaknesses. That minimum level that you should have always changes. But, it's a good idea to continually focus on your strengths. If you spend too much time on your weaknesses, you will neglect the talent that has gotten you as far as you've gone today.

Tags: brandon vera, fabricio werdum, UFC, prediction, training tips