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Manila Bulletin

Opinion

Vera eager to return after losing ONE heavyweight belt

Opinion

Vera eager to return after losing ONE heavyweight belt

By Carlo Anolin

Brandon Vera seeks nothing but to return to the top of the heavyweight division in ONE Championship,

Brandon Vera (ONE)

The 44-year-old Vera expressed eagerness for his much-awaited comeback in the Circle since losing his heavyweight title against Arjan Bhullar last April 2021.

And since their title bout, both Vera and Bhullar have yet to make their respective comebacks.

"I miss you all very very much. I miss the entire world. I miss performing for you guys. I cannot wait to get back and show you how we've been training and what we've been doing," said Vera, who was the inaugural ONE heavyweight champion.

"Our goal, our dream is to bring our championship belt back home to the Philippines. That's my number one goal now."

Since becoming the first heavyweight titleholder in the promotion, Vera has defended his post twice against the likes of Hideki Sekine and Mauro Cerilli.

The Filipino-American fighter tested his gears in the light heavyweight division but yielded to former champion Aung La N Sang.

Vera, who has 16 wins, nine losses, and one no-contest in his established career, is out to defy Father Time and bring back glory to the Philippines as the country was left with only one world champion in Joshua Pacio, the king of strawweight division.

Meanwhile, Anatoly Malykhin is currently the interim champion in the heavyweight class, and talks of a possible unification match have continued to surface amid Bhullar's inactivity.

Malykhin won the interim belt after knocking out Kirill Grishenko last February to remain unbeaten in 10 straight matches.

Bhullar, for his part, holds an 11-1 record.

Related Tags

ONE Championship ONE

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