BRANDON “The Truth” Vera defends his ONE Championship heavyweight strap against dangerous challenger Arjan Bhullar in ONE: “Dangal” on May 15, 2021 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
Vera last defended his heavyweight belt on Nov. 23, 2018 against Italian Mauro Cerilli at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. The 43-year-old Filipino-American knocked out Cerilli in the opening round to retain his title as the best heavyweight in the organization.
Vera tried his luck at light heavyweight the following year and challenged then ONE light heavyweight and middleweight king Aung La N Sang on Oct. 13, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. Vera had a rude awakening and suffered his first loss in ONE after getting stopped by N Sang in the second round.
Vera won’t go back down again at the light heavyweight division and is now training partners with N Sang.
Vera has carved his career fighting mostly at the UFC. He has fought the likes of MMA greats Frank Mir, Farbricio Werdum, Randy Couture, Jon Jones and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Bhullar, on the other hand, has had his share of action in the UFC, wherein he went 3-1. He won over Luis Henrique, Marcelo Golm and Juan Adams in the Octagon. His only loss was an omaplata submission in the hands of Adam Wieczorek in UFC on Fox 29; Porier vs. Gaethje in 2018.
Bhullar, an Indian-Canadian, made his ONE debut on Oct. 13, 2019, the same event Vera fought N Sang, outclassed Cerilli by unanimous decision.
Vera is 16-8 with 12 wins by stoppage, while Bhullar is 10-1.
Vera and ONE strawweight titleholder Joshua Pacio are the only two current Filipino champions in the ONE Championship. (EKA)