He is also proud to be a filipino.
Here is some part of his interview before ufc 65.



That candid nature has made Vera a favorite of the media and the fans, and his three UFC performances (TKO2 Fabiano Scherner, KO1 Justin Eilers, WSub1 Assuerio Silva) haven’t hurt his appeal any. How is he dealing with being the most solid ‘can’t miss’ prospect in the game today?

“I’m having a good time with it,” said the 29-year old Vera. “It hasn’t interfered with my personal life. I can only imagine what it would be like to be Tom Cruise or somebody like that. I’m nowhere near that and I hope I never get like that – well, I can’t even say that because if you want to get the big money, you’ve got to be like that. But I’m dealing with it. My head’s still level, my sister jokes about it, and my mom and dad say that if I get a big head they’ll smack me, so it’s cool. I’ve got a lot of people keeping me straight.”

It has been some 12 months though.

“This past year has gone so fast I haven’t even realized what’s going on,” he said. “I paid off a lot of bills this year, I’m almost completely out of debt, got married, and life has been really good to me. I have no complaints. I hope I have another year in 07 that I had from 05 to 06.”

And while things haven’t gotten Cruise-esque for Vera here in the States, in the Philippines (Vera’s mother is Filipino and father is Italian), it’s quite a different matter, as the heavyweight contender found out during a recent visit, where he conducted 30 newspaper interviews, appeared on six TV shows, was photographed for an eight page spread in Maxim’s fashion magazine, and could wind up on the cover of Men’s Health there.

“It’s insane over there,” said Vera, who is also in the process of setting up a charity organization in the Philippines for homeless children. “I love my Filipino roots, they love the fact that I speak Tagalog and that I’m coming back home to represent and that I’m proud to be Filipino. If you go out there, put on a show and show how much heart you have, the Filipino people will back you all the way, no matter what happens.”

Vera even admits that if he wins Saturday’s fight, he may be heading back to the Philippines to meet with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He’s got some other plans in store if he secures a victory.