He rode into the UFC on a horse called hype and backed it up with four straight wins, including a brutal first-round battering of current interim heavyweight champ Frank Mir. But strained contract negotiations have topped a list of problems for Brandon Vera over the last two years, which saw him fight only four more times. The 31-year-old fighter lost three of his last four bouts, but Vera goes into his heavyweight tilt against Mike Patt this Saturday at UFC 96 in Columbus, Ohio, a changed fighter.

“The reason why everyone knew about me before I even came onto the scene was because of my hard work ethic and my willingness to compete and go do everything, Grapplers Quest, Pan-American Games, muay Thai tournaments,” Vera told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show” on Monday. “If it was anything related to fighting, I was in and I was there. That’s why I had such a strong grassroots fan base and everybody knew who I was.”

As his following continued to grow with his early UFC success, Vera lost sight of how he got there.

“Somewhere along the lines I became one of those guys I used to talk s--- about,” said Vera. “I stopped training and doing the things that got me here in the first place. I don’t know when it happened or why it happened or how it happened. But it happened. ’08 definitely was not great. I’m sad to say that it went that way.”

Vera, who came up on the short end of a split decision to Keith Jardine at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England last October, admits he was going through the motions.

“I just wasn’t into it,” said Vera. “I was training and doing my thing. I would be the hardest working guy in the gym. But my mind wasn’t into it. I wasn’t excited to go back to the gym or do my second training session or my third training session. It all changed now though. I found some new coaches and I had some guys kick me in the butt.”

The jolt didn’t include having a say in who his next opponent would be.

“They didn’t ask me what I thought about Mike Patt,” said Vera. “They said you’re fighting Mike Patt. That was pretty much it. I do (like it that way). I got lost last year among a whole bunch of BS. My head got a little bit swollen… actually a lot a bit swollen. I started not doing the things I was supposed to be doing and still fighting some of the best guys in the world. Even though I was losing, I wasn’t losing bad so I figured I was doing OK. It’s kind of a good thing my managing group is telling me who I’m fighting now instead of asking me who I want to fight.”

Vera knows he needs to get back on track, even if that means making some very painful changes to his daily routine. The once-feared striker hopes the changes will keep Patt the wrestler at bay.

“Everything has changed,” said Vera. “It’s retarded. My diet, my work ethic, everything. I don’t eat bad stuff. If you were with me last year and seen what I’m doing now you would think something’s wrong with me. That’s how much things have changed. I can’t remember the last time I had a donut. It’s bad. I don’t eat ice cream anymore. That was my favorite thing in the world. Now I eat frozen yogurt if I need to get a fix. Non-fat frozen yogurt. Come on man… I’m going to eat real well on Sunday, I’ll tell you that much.”