Brandon “The Truth” Vera (11-4) broke onto the scene five years ago as a young, up-and-coming heavyweight prospect with intentions of proving himself by beating the best competition that the UFC had to offer. Vera ran through opponents in the two years that followed, but was denied his title intentions due to defeats from more experience UFC veterans.

Brandon Vera

On Sunday, for the first time, Vera will play the role of “the gatekeeper” when he faces young, up-and-coming light-heavyweight prospect Jon “Bones” Jones (9-1) in the main event of UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colo.

Fighting out of San Diego, Calif., Vera is a former WEC heavyweight champion. Vera, a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, currently trains with both Team Lloyd Irvin and Alliance MMA in San Diego. He has also trained at Linxx Academy and Hybrid Academy.

Vera gained experience wrestling in high school and continued wrestling at Old Dominion University, and then with the United States Air Force. However, he is best known in the MMA world for his effective muay thai skills.

Through the first four years of his MMA career Vera went a perfect 8-0, with seven of his wins coming by way of stoppage and four earned in UFC competition. Arguably his most impressive performance came at UFC 65 when he stopped Frank Mir at just 1:09 into the first round via TKO (punches).

In his next two matches Vera saw a step up in competition, losing a decision to Tim Sylvia and a TKO to Fabricio Werdum. These back-to-back losses, to much larger opponents, prompted Vera’s move to light-heavyweight competition. Vera now holds a 3-2 record as a light-heavyweight. His two losses came via close and controversial decisions.

Vera vs. Fabiano Scherner

MMA veteran, TUF cast-member and UFC newcomer Krzysztof Soszynski (19-9-1) went the distance with Vera at UFC 102. Vera won a unanimous decision by controlling the fight, avoiding the takedown and dominating on the feet with strong kicks and combinations.

Vera saw a step up in competition in his next fight as he went the distance with UFC Hall of Famer and five-time UFC champion Randy “The Natural” Couture in the main event of UFC 105. Couture controlled the fight from the clinch utilizing dirty boxing while Vera dominated the striking from the feet, hurting Couture badly with kicks and combinations in each round.

Vera was caught in Couture’s clinch, fighting off the takedown, for the majority of the competition. However, Vera landed very effective strikes from the feet. He dropped Couture in the second round, but was unable to finish him. After bearing an assault from the clinch Vera landed a series of body kicks that hurt Couture in the third round and followed up by taking him down and transitioning to full mount. The fight ended with an intense exchange.

All three judges scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Couture. The ruling surprised Vera and was very controversial.

Jon Jones is a young (22 year old) prospect with impressive striking and wrestling skills. Vera’s muay thai skills will be much more relevant in his upcoming fight than in his last two, which saw him trapped in his opponent’s clinch for the majority of the fight. However, Vera, a BJJ brown belt, will likely have an advantage in the unlikely case that the fight goes to the ground.

Vera has been in Jones’ situation a number of times early in his UFC career. Jones will face the toughest test in his young MMA career at UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones. For Vera, a victory will likely put him back in the title-mix.

The event will air live on Versus at 9 p.m. EST

Is it destiny to grow up in a family of a certain trade? What about a family of fighters? The historic Hart family, hailing from Canada is one of the most famous amateur and professional wrestling families in organized fighting history. However, there is a more unique story…

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Greg Jackson took a different route than your run-of-the-mill mixed martial artist. With a family of champion wrestlers, including his father, uncle and brother, Jackson learned to develop wrestling rather quickly, while growing up in a rough neighborhood.

What’s more, Jackson decided, at a young age, that wrestling wasn’t enough. Mixing in some Judo with his wrestling expertise, Jackson soon developed his own form of martial arts. And by 1992, he was ready to open up shop and begin teaching others what had become known as Gaidojutsu.

History was made in 1993, when Jackson saw his first Ultimate Fighting Championship, and took a page out of the Gracie family’s book, adding BJJ to his fighting form. He’s also added kickboxing to the form, learning from his mentor and five time world champion Michael Winkeljohn.

Jackson at UFC 96

What is known as The World’s Premiere Fight Team, Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts, located in his hometown of Albuquerque was officially named an MMA school in 2000, and since its birth, the school has developed ten world champions. It is even said that Jackson’s fighters have an 81-percent winning percentage, according to Sherdog.

As a guy that mainly taught himself, Jackson’s coaching tendencies are among the best, as seen by his repertoire of successful fighters, which include light heavyweight Jon Jones, Nate Marquardt, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, and current UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.

The best thing about Jackson’s coaching? Passion.

“I like changing people’s lives for the better,” Jackson said in an interview with his school’s website.

“I think that’s definitely the part I’m addicted to. When I see somebody that you know is just a normal student and their life becomes better, they become a stronger person, they become a better person, that something that really exemplifies why I’m in this business.”

Jackson works alongside Winkeljohn, who coaches kickboxing at the academy, as well as strength and conditioning coach Chris Luttrell, and Chad Lemoine – each providing expertise in the areas that make Gaidojutsu the powerful form that it has become.

Jackson is currently filming a documentary on the genesis and development of Jackson’s MMA, and will see some of his fighters face off at UFC Live on March 21, 2010, including Jon Jones, Paul Buentello, Eliot Marshall, Clay Guida, and Brendan Shaub.

Quickly established as arguably the top facility and fight team in Europe, Wolfslair MMA Academy is now gaining a strong reputation as one of the leading gyms in the MMA world today.

Michael Bisping training at Wolfslair

Wolfslair Academy is a gym located in Widnes, United Kingdom, which has both produced and recently signed several UFC stars and other elite level fighters.

Co-owners and managers Anthony McGann and Lee Gwynn established the fight team as MMA fans with the goal of creating the top MMA facility in the U.K. They quickly achieved their goal and the facility continues to grow.

The gym gained notoriety primarily due to its signing of U.K. based UFC star Michael Bisping. Bisping’s appearance as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) created recognition for the gym, because several of its staff members were featured as trainers on the show.

With the recent signings of former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and heavyweight Cheick Kongo, the gym added two huge names and talented fighters to its roster. These signings have attracted new fighters to the gym for training purposes, as well as more publicity, and sponsorship and endorsement opportunities.

Rampage and Dave Jackson

The trainers at Wolfslair Academy are not internationally recognized MMA figures like the staff of many top-level gyms in the U.S. However, the team’s trainers are extremely experienced and have many achievements within their fields, making them very effective coaches and gaining them praise from fighters.

Wolfslair’s talented training staff, access to the public, and its appeal to traveling fighters and prospective fighters in Europe are its main strengths. These factors contribute greatly to the gym’s rapid growth and success as a business.

The head coach at Wolfslair is Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo black belt Mario “Sukata” Neto. Neto, the gym’s jiu-jitsu coach, is a one-fight UFC veteran and holds a 10-5 professional MMA record against top-level opponents. Neto has many accomplishments in the world of martial arts, including winning the grand masters in BJJ, winning a Vale Tudo championship in Russia and earning a third-degree black belt in BJJ. He was featured as one of Bisping’s coaches on TUF.

Boxing coach Tony Quigley and his son Tony Quigley Jr. are an integral part of the gym’s coaching staff. Rampage was impressed by the instruction of Quigley and his son upon coming to train at Wolfslair, and now spends a substantial amount of his time working with them. Junior Olympic gold medalist Tony Quigley Jr. is a professional boxer with a record of 13-2.

Rampage and Kongo with Tapout members in Wolfslair apparel

Thai boxing coach Dave Jackson is renowned within the muay thai community for his expertise as a coach and his uniquely effective style of muay thai. Jackson has worked extensively with Rampage and Kongo. Kongo was very impressed with Jackson’s style of muay thai and instruction while initially training at Wolfslair, and he has now refined his skills training under him. Jackson was featured as one of Bisping’s coaches on TUF.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and 3-1 professional MMA fighter Kazeka Muniz is Wolfslair’s wrestling coach. Gwynn is the gym’s strength and conditioning coach in addition to being a co-owner.

The gym currently holds a roster with several UFC veterans, including Michael Bisping, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Cheick Kongo, Paul Kelly, and Mario “Sukata” Neto. Other notable fighters include Alex Cook, Tom Blackledge, Lukasz Les, Henrique Nogueira, Curt Warburton and Abdul Mohamed. Many top-level fighters travel to Wolfslair for training purposes, including Andre Arlovski, Ian Freeman, Dean Lister, Tiki Ghosn and Ricco Rodriguez.

Rampage recently took a leave from the UFC to star in the upcoming film, “The A Team.” A dispute with UFC President Dana White also contributed to his decision. Rampage coached the most recent season of TUF along with Rashad Evans. The two light-heavyweights are scheduled to fight on May 29 at UFC 114 in Las Vegas, Nev.

Paul Kelly is 1-1 since making the move to the UFC lightweight division. Kelly looks to improve his record when he faces Matt Veach on April 10 at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi.

After going 9-2 since his UFC debut, Cheick Kongo has lost his last two fights to top heavyweights Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir. Kongo hopes to avenge his losses and get back in the title picture with a win over Paul Buentello in the upcoming UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones on Mar. 23 in Broomfield, Colorado.

Cheick Kongo Training with Michael Bisping & Teammates @ Wolfslair (2008)

Asylum Fight League (AFL), the premier amateur MMA promotion on the East Coast, is quickly gaining fans and a growing reputation in the MMA world with each event. The promotion’s success is largely credited to martial arts school owner turned promoter Carl Mascarenhas.

AFL Fight Action

Following New Jersey’s decision to sanction MMA competition, Mascarenhas opened his first promotional company named New Breed Fighters. In 2008, Mascarenhas had a falling out with his business partner in New Breed and decided to go in a new direction with his promotional efforts, thus spawning Asylum Fight League.

Asylum Fight League was established as a promotion “created by fighters, for fighters.” Mascarenhas is the president and promoter of AFL, as well as a retired MMA fighter and former World Champion Kickboxer. He participated in three World Cups with the U.S. World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) team, winning gold in 1995.

Mascarenhas created AFL as a training ground for amateur fighters of the Northeast region to build their records and gain recognition as potential professional-level athletes while getting the respect and understanding of businessmen who have been in their shoes.

AFL has promoted events since April of 2008 and has gained considerable popularity, routinely drawing sell-out crowds in major venues, such as the Trump Marina Casino. AFL promotes events in the New Jersey and Philadelphia areas. Of the promotion’s last six fights, three were held in Atlantic City along with the last event, which took place at the Trump Mariana on Feb. 27.

Carl Mascarenhas

The legalization of MMA competition in Pennsylvania, which took effect on Feb. 27, 2009, proved extremely favorable for AFL in exposure, recruitment of fighters, buildup of fan base, and expansion of venues and sponsorship. AFL held its first event in Pa. on Oct. 17, 2009 at The Arena in Philadelphia. Its next event, Asylum Fight League XXVII, will take place at The Legendary Blue Horizon in Philadelphia on Sat, Mar. 13 at 7 p.m.

In addition to putting on displays of MMA competition to an audience at venues, the AFL also provides a live online stream of its events at www.asylumfightleague.com or gofightlive.tv.

AFL has been very effective in marketing itself to sponsors and advertisers. The promotion has a detailed sponsorship plan, which has attracted numerous sponsors, including Everlast, The National Guard, Sirius Satellite Radio, Ring of Combat, Knockout Athletics and others.

The league promotes events featuring a variety of different weight classes (13) ranging from super featherweight (126-129.9 pounds) to absolute (250 pounds and above). Of the 13 weight classes, there are six titleholders. The other weight classes currently have vacant titles.

The success and gained notoriety of the league have had effects on its talent and led to changes in the promotion. Due to the number of its fighters turning professional, AFL has recently decided to promote cards featuring both amateur and professional bouts. At AFL XXI, the promotion’s debut in Philadelphia, the card featured four amateur fights and four professional fights.

Asylum Fight League Promo Videos

AFL’s next events are scheduled for Mar. 13 in Philadelphia and Mar. 20 at Club Abyss in Amboy, N.J.

After taking a look at North/South Position just a few days ago, it is only appropriate that we analyze its close cousin, Side Control.

Sometimes called “Side Mount” or “Cross Mount,” side control looks very similar to north/south, in that the aggressor is on top of the defender. The exception comes in the position of the aggressor’s body, which is now perpendicular to the defender’s body on the ground. The legs are free and the aggressor can exhibit extreme control over his opponent.

In this position, it is most appropriate for the aggressor to deliver blows with his knees and elbows. He/she can also perform various armlocks.

A little more susceptible to an escape, the side control position can be swept by the defender.

To do this, the defender slips his left arm underneath the body of his opponent, and pushes his left knee up into the opposing fighter’s side. Taking that same left hand, the defender can then grab his right foot and hook it under the aggressor’s leg. He will then usually sweep the aggressor’s leg out and twist into a butterfly position. From here, both fighters must alter their game to gain the upper hand.

Meanwhile, the aggressor also has a number of solid attacks from side control, despite the possibility of escape. One of the more powerful attacks is the knee bar. If the defender attempts a sweep, the aggressor can gain the upper hand by hooking the non-sweeping leg, and then propping himself up and grabbing the leg in a locked position. After performing this, the aggressor can then wrap his arms and legs around the sweeping leg and fall backwards, applying pressure on the other leg and hoping for submission.

Another form of side control is “Twister Side Control,” which is said to be a little easier in the grappling world. In this position, the aggressor is trying to avoid the defender’s attempt of shrimping away from traditional side control. It is done by leaning to face the opponent’s legs, and placing the hand furthest from the legs head behind the opponent’s back, then leaning them towards the aggressor.

From here, you can apply the Twister (a guillotine move that applies extreme pressure on the neck and spine), and/or the Baby Arm.

Check out the video below for a complete tutorial on side control.

The development of a solid ground game in MMA competition relies heavily on a fighter’s ability to effectively execute, defend and counter the armbar technique, one of the most commonly used submissions in modern MMA.

The armbar is a basic submission commonly used in MMA, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, jujutsu, judo, catch wrestling, and various grappling martial arts. The technique uses leverage to hyper-extend the opponent’s elbow joint, causing submission.

The first step to execute an armbar is to secure the opponent’s arm. This is commonly achieved using a punch counter. Next, the attacker must secure the opponent’s wrist while turning his hips and opening his legs.

The attacker then quickly rotates his body, moving into position and closing his legs across the opponent’s chest, or chest and face. The opponent’s arm is trapped between the attacker’s thighs with his elbow facing the attacker’s hips and palm facing away from the attacker’s chest.

The attacker squeezes his knees and retains control of the opponents wrist using his hands and arms in order to secure arm control and prevent escape. With the opponents wrist at the chest and elbow at the hips the attacker extends or arches his hips toward the elbow. This extends the opponent’s arm and/or hyper-extends the elbow leading to submission or injury.

The armbar can be executed effectively from various positions, which makes the technique a threat in nearly any situation. The most basic form of the armbar is performed from the top mount position. However, the move can also be applied from bottom guard, top or bottom side control, and even from the stand-up, called a flying armbar. In MMA it is most commonly applied from the top mount or bottom guard.

The armbar is a difficult technique to counter. However, there are numerous defenses to the move.

Armbar defense starts with the defender keeping his arms in tight and simply not leaving an arm out to get caught. An effective hand grip to avoid arm control involves the defender grabbing onto his own arms and bringing them close to the body, making it difficult for the attacker to gain control of a wrist.

Once the armbar effort is initiated the defender should attempt to keep his elbow bent by grabbing the arm being attacked with both hands and wrenching it free before the position is secured. However, this often merely delays the application.

A very common armbar escape in MMA is to simply lift up and slam the opponent to the mat in an attempt to free the arm before it is fully extended. This technique worked very effectively for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson during his time fighting in Pride FC.

The most common counter to a secured armbar is the shoulder-roll escape. The defender turns his thumb toward the attacker, rotating his elbow upward, away from the attackers body, and then rolls away from the attacker to escape. The defender rolls into the top guard of the opponent or back to his feet.

A failed armbar attempt by the attacker will not land him in a severely vulnerable position. Commonly, the most vulnerable position the attacker will end up in is bottom guard. Although the attacker ends up on his back, he is not in a very dangerous position: especially for a fighter well versed in submissions. However, the attacker can lose a huge advantage by risking an armbar attempt from full mount.

The armbar is a very effective move in MMA and a failed attempt often effects the fight and attacker minimally, because the submission relies on timing, technique and leverage more than a fighter’s strength.

A common ground maneuver, the north/south position can prove deadly for both the aggressor and the defender in many forms of organized combat.

In its most basic state, the north/south position shows two fighters on the ground, one on his back and the other on top of the fighter, facing the opposite direction, with his head over the combatant’s chest. From this position, the aggressor, or the fighter on top, can strike his opponent, or apply various grapples that will force the opponent into submission.

In BJJ, the position is easily comparable to the side mount. Sometimes, the aggressor will even hold his opponent’s belt in order to gain an even better advantage, making it hard for the defender to turn and wiggle out. Most effectively, the aggressor will try to keep his opponent’s hips pinned to the ground.

Two common pinning holds are derived from kami shiho gatame, which pins the opponents arms on his/her side, and grabbing the belt. To get an opponent into this position, a straight over throw can be utilized.

One of the best escapes from north/south is called the pendulum. This can be applied when the defender is facing the ground, as opposed to on his back, which is a variant of the north/south attack. The defender will pin the opponent’s arm to his body and left his left knee, kicking his right foot. This allows for a bit of momentum to place the opponent face down on the mat, allowing the defender to push his head into the opponent’s back. From here, the defender becomes the aggressor and twists the arm behind his back into a possible submission hold.

Overall, the aggressor in the basic north/south position is trying to beat his opponent into a knockout or submission. He can move into other different ground games, such as side control, or remain on top using knee strikes to force a knockout of some sorts. Check out the video below to see some north/south techniques.