Brandon Vera's Next Match Will Be Massive No Matter The Opponent

Brandon “The Truth” Vera (16-7-1) has climbed to the top of the mixed martial arts world, but the Filipino-American is still determined to test himself.

Even at 41 years of age, the ONE Heavyweight World Champion wants the biggest challenges, and that is what he may get in the year to come.

November 2018 saw Vera’s highly anticipated return to competition as he took out former Cage Warriors Heavyweight Champion Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli (12-3) a mere 64 seconds into the first round at ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS.

The epic main event knockout took place in Vera’s native Philippines and showcased his constant improvement as a mixed martial artist. It also saw him make his first defense of his ONE Heavyweight World Championship in almost two years.

Now that “The Truth” is back in the groove, there was one man who competed on the same card who will have kept a close eye on the main event.

Former ONE Light Heavyweight World Title challenger Alexandre “Bebezao” Machado (9-3) returned to winning ways with a second-round knockout of Vera’s former challenger, Hideki “Shrek” Sekine (7-3).

He showed patience to prevail after he weathered the Japanese grappler’s early storm and looked better than ever back in the company of ONE’s biggest athletes.

Machado has the well-rounded skills to challenge Vera – as shown by his equal number of submission and knockout finishes – but his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt skills set him apart from the competition.

Vera has not faced that level of grappling ability in the cage for years, and his defensive skills could be put to the test by the Brazilian’s stifling top game.

However, Machado might have to wait because of the number of projects Vera has in the pipeline for 2019.

The Filipino hero has been vocal about his plans to keep building on his career in the entertainment business, but even though he has three movies lined up for 2019, Vera promises that his fans won’t have to wait another two years before he steps back into action.

Ahead of any other challenge in the cage, Vera has expressed his desire to drop down in weight and challenge two-division ONE World Champion “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang (24-10) for his light heavyweight belt. “The Truth” even has a venue in mind.

Vera said at a ONE press conference in Tokyo he wanted that World Champion versus World Champion super-bout to go down in Japan.

ONE’s second event in the Ryogoku Kokugikan – ONE: GREATNESS UNLEASHED in October – might be the ideal occasion for Vera’s wish to come true.

Both Aung La N Sang and ONE Chairman and CEO, Chatri Sityodtong are fans of the idea, so it could only be a matter of time before two of the biggest sports stars in Asia collide.