Brandon Vera and the Philippines [Update]

Once a promising heavyweight Brandon Vera is in the same boat as Chuck Liddell. In his past four fights he is 1-3, despite dropping down to a more favorable weight at 205lbs. Brandon Vera followed the drop with an uninspiring win over Reese Andy and a lost to Keith Jardine, the UFC's version of Mr. Inconsistent. Brandon Vera has received a lot of criticism not just for the losses but his gargantuan contract, $200,000 to show $100,000 to win. While not baseball pitcher ridiculous (read: Barry Zito), for MMA this contract is bloated. (Check out mmaeruption.com for an in depth comparison of reported salaries)

Despite the negativity Vera should feel safe. Why? It is due to his popularity in the Philippines. The UFC has been flirting with the idea of expanding into the Pacific rim for awhile now. The UFC will pay attention to the recent news that Pacquiao-De La Hoya did 1.5 million PPV buys, a fact that many contribute to strong nationalistic followings from both the Latino and Filipino communities. While Vera's popularity in the Philippines is not as great as Pacquiao's nor the fact the De La Hoya's popularity contributed to that huge PPV buy as well, he could still be the Michael Bisping for the Philippines.