Brandon Vera ready for future title contenders

Brandon Vera

With the upcoming ONE: UNBREAKABLE II coming tonight with its two heavyweight matchups serving as its main features, the current ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera is most definitely an interested observer.

Serving as the main event of this previously recorded event is a former title challenger to Vera in Mauro Cerilli, who will face Abdulbasir Vagabov, while the co-main event involves four-time Muay Thai and Kickboxing Heavyweight World Champion Alain Ngalani against Oumar Kane.

All four men are angling for a shot at the current champ, who has yet to yield the belt since becoming its first champion in 2015. A win would potentially cement a title opportunity.

About the prospects of facing one of these four individuals soon, Vera says, "All of them are future opponents. Everyone is when you’re the champ."

He adds, "These guys are amazing heavyweights, each with their own attributes to solve and figure out. I’m excited to see this event, and even more excited to watch and learn. I’m beyond hyped for all the recent signings of world-class heavyweight talent. It makes me nervous, which in turn, makes me train even harder."

The man called "The Truth" is expected to face Arjan Bhullar for his third title defense, and his first fight since his TKO loss to Aung La N Sang back in October 2019. Vera has stayed in Guam during the pandemic, although he is currently in the Philippines to attend to his non-fight commitments.

Although there is no date yet scheduled, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong has indicated that Brandon's upcoming title defense is looming in the horizon.

Brandon did affirm, though, that fans should expect it to take place during the first half of the year.

ONE Championship fighters among PSA honorees

Team Lakay brandishing four ONE Championship titleholders

The Philippine Sportswriters Association is set to fete the best of Philippines sports in the past year at their Annual Awards Night tonight, and among those being celebrated are the recent feats of Filipino fighters in the mixed martial arts realm.

Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belingon, Geje Eustaquio, Joshua Pacio, and Brandon Vera will be receiving citations from the PSA after securing titles in ONE Championship in 2018, winning all twelve matches they participated in.

Folayang shares, "It's an honor, definitely. It's always a blessing to be in this position and be recognized for what we do. We hope that through this, we will continue to inspire others."

The man called "Landslide" reclaimed his ONE Lightweight World Title with a unanimous decision victory over Amir Khan at ONE: Conquest of Champions this past November. It is that same event where Vera successfully defended his ONE Heavyweight World Title in, defeating Mauro Cerilli.

The Silencer became the ONE Bantamweight World Champion after a split decision victory over Bibiano Fernandes last November in a much-anticipated rematch.

Eustaquio kickstarted a strong 2018 for Filipino MMA with a unanimous decision win over Kairat Akhmetov back in January to claim the ONE Flyweight title in ONE: Global Superheroes. He would then face off against rival Adriano Moraes in two title defenses, first defeating the Brazilian via split decision in ONE: Pinnacle of Power back in June before dropping the title last month with a unanimous decision loss at ONE: Hero's Ascent, to complete the first trilogy in ONE Championship's history.

Pacio claimed the ONE Strawweight World Title by defeating Yoshitaka Naito in ONE: Conquest of Heroes back in September, but would then drop the belt in a controversial split decision loss against Yosuke Saruta in ONE: Eternal Glory last month.

Other notable awardees set to be feted at the SMC-PSA Annual Awards Night include current WBO mini-flyweight champion Vic Saludar and trainer Buboy Fernandez.

2018 Asian Games gold medalists Hidilyn Diaz (weightlifting), Margielyn Didal (skateboarding), Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan, and Lois Kaye Go (golf) are set to be named as the Athletes of the Year.

Brandon Vera set to defend ONE FC title in Manila

The ONE Championship Heavyweight Champion

Brandon Vera finally gets a title defense.

ONE Championship has announced that its current Heavyweight World Champion will be headlining its latest MMA event at the Mall of Asia Arena: ONE: Conquest of Champions this coming November 23.

Vera claimed the strap back in December 2015 with a knockout victory over Paul Cheng. He has had just one title defense since, defeating Hideki Sekine via technical knockout in the first round a year later to raise his record to 15-7 with 1 NC. The upcoming fight will be his first fight in almost two years.

Seeking to dethrone "The Truth" on his home turf is Mauro Cerilli. "The Hammer" from Italy is the current Heavyweight Champion of the London-based MMA outfit Cage Warriors and will be making his ONE Championship debut at ONE: Conquest of Champions. Toting a 12-2 professional record, Cerilli is fresh from dispatching Karl Moore back in March for his first title defense, needing just 15 seconds to stop the Irish fighter in London during Cage Warriors 92, extending his winning streak to five matches.

In making the announcement, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong shares: "The Philippines is a country that is extremely passionate about sports, especially martial arts. We have some of the greatest martial artists in Asia that call the Philippines home. One of those athletes is our ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera. Brandon has been itching to get back in action to defend his heavyweight title for some time now, and I am thrilled to announce that he will be returning at ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS. Brandon will have a very tough challenger in front of him in the form of Mauro Cerilli. The two provide an explosive matchup and a good contrast of styles."

Sityodtong also shared his excitement for the co-main event for ONE: Conquest of Champions, as the ONE Championship will be crowning a new lightweight champion, with Eduard Folayang and Amir Khan duking it out. He notes that it will be "an electric evening at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila."

Folayang has bounced back well since losing the title to Martin Nguyen last year, notching unaninous decision victories over Kharun Atlangeriev back in May and Aziz Pahrudinov this past July to get himself back into the title picture with Nguyen forced to vacate the title a few weeks ago.

Khan, on the other hand, has won eight of his last nine bouts to figure in the title picture in this competitive division, including a first-round submission victory over Honorio Banario last September.

For further details on ONE: Conquest of Champions and other upcoming ONE Championship events, one should check out www.onefc.com.

Brandon Vera among notable attendees at ONE Championship: Shanghai

Brandon Vera

To ensure that its inaugural event in Shanghai would be a memorable one, ONE Championship is having one of its top champions grace the proceedings.

Current ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon "The Truth" Vera will be making a special appearance at ONE Championship: Shanghai this week, which caps off with the actual MMA event on September 2.

Vera says, "I am excited to meet all of the adoring martial arts fans in Shanghai. The Chinese people are so passionate about the sport. ONE Championship has prepared a stacked card featuring a solid group of local competitors mixed in with some of the best international talents on the company's roster. You all know that means be ready for an amazing night of action. I can't wait to be there and witness some fireworks."

Brandon is ONE Championship's only heavyweight champion to date, claiming the inaugural title via a knockout victory over Paul Cheng back in December 2015. He has had one title defense, beating Hideki Sekine in one round.

ONE Championship will ensure this week will be a festive one heading into the fight itself on September 2. Among the activities that will take place includes the Face-Off event at the Hotel Indigo Shanghai On The Bund on August 31 that Vera will be in attendance for.

ONE Championship: Shanghai will take place at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, with Ben Askren's defense of his ONE Welterweight title against Zebaztian Kadestam serving as the main event.

For further details on this and other ONE Championship news, make sure to visit www.onefc.com.

ONE FC: SPIRIT OF CHAMPIONS caps off 2015 for ONE Championship

The Weigh-In for ONE FC: SPIRIT OF CHAMPIONS is later today.

To send 2015 off with a bang, ONE Championship has put together a MMA event at the SM Mall of Asia Arena this Friday, December 11.

According to ONE Championship CEO Victor Cui, 2015 for him was an "amazing year," acknowledging that they have "climbed new heights while breaking barriers and spreading the ideals of the MMA discipline."

Highlighting the fight card is the ONE Heavyweight World Championship title fight between Brandon "The Truth" Vera and Paul "Typhoon" Cheng. Cheng, of course, is the late replacement for Chi Lewis-Parry, who was dropped by ONE Championship on Tuesday.

The ONE FC: SPIRIT OF CHAMPIONS main event

Supporting the main event fight are four more bouts involving Pinoy fighters.

One fight sees the return of former women's boxing world champion Ana "Hurricane" Julaton, as she faces former wushu world champion Irina Mazepa of Russia in a flyweight bout.

Just before the Vera fight, Mark Striegl will be facing off against Reece McClaren, while Eugene Toquero faces Chinese opposition in Li Wei Bin in the flyweight division. Toquero is fresh from a UD loss to Riku Shibuya on ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA, and hopes that a win here would vault him back into title contention.

Completing the cast of Pinoy fighters is Ruel Catalan, who will face Alex Silva of Brazil in a flyweight bout.

The other matches scheduled sees a couple more featherweight bouts (Christian Lee against David Meak, and Bruno Pucci against Anthony Engelen) and a strawweight matchup (Angela Lee against Lena Tkhorevska).

A ninth fight was supposed to take place, but Yang Jian Bing was suffering from severe dehydration in attempting to make weight and his match against Geje Eustaquio was called off on Thursday.

Cui remains committed in "cultivating local homegrown heroes from the grassroots into bonafide superstars," adding that when fans cheer on their favorite fighter/s in a place like the MOA Arena, "that is when we know we have done a good job."

Cui believes that 2016 "will be even better," as ONE Championship is expected to conduct more shows in iconic cities throughout Asia.