“I’m going to go with the taller one” - Brandon Vera picks a winner between Malykhin and Grishenko 

Brandon Vera is eager to witness the colossal showdown between Anatoly ‘Sladkiy’ Malykhin and Kirill Grishenko go down in the main event of ONE: Only the Brave.

The spectacle, set for January 28 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, will see both heavyweight stars compete for the ONE interim heavyweight world title. Brandon Vera foresees this to be an interesting fight between two powerful yet intelligent strikers.

On paper, martial arts analysts understand that this matchup will be a closely-fought contest. It seems difficult to pick a victor, but the former division king had no issues singling out a clear winner between the pair.

Brandon Vera dropped his pick in an interview with ONE Championship last week:

“I’m going to go with the taller one [Grishenko]. The one who does spinning kicks. Either one of those guys can carry the heavyweight belt, the championship and carry ONE Championship on their shoulders...[Grishenko] does spinning heel kicks and [Malykhin] has lead hands. This is going to be a good match. Either guy deserves to be interim champ.”

Anatoly Malykhin has been open about why he deserves a shot at the heavyweight gold. The undefeated Russian has two stoppage wins on the global stage, alongside a perfect record and a 100 percent finishing rate.

The promotion tried to get Arjan ‘Singh’ Bhullar to defend his strap against ‘Sladkiy’. However, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong revealed in December – during the Malykhin-Grishenko interim title tilt announcement – that the Indian world champion had turned down multiple offers.

Grishenko, on the other hand, also owns an undefeated record. The Belarusian tank is 5-0 in his career with three first-round finishes.

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Brandon Vera: “We have plenty of amazing heavyweights that deserve a title shot”

Brandon Vera praised Sityodtong’s decision to introduce a ONE heavyweight interim world title. He stated that the division is stacked with plenty of stars who are eager to secure their first taste of success.

Vera knows what it takes to sit atop the heavyweight division, having held the ONE heavyweight world championship gold for close to six years. The 44-year-old still has his eyes on the big prize.

“I think that’s a very good move by ONE Championship. I don’t know the reason why Arjan is not competing. I don’t know if it’s medical or contractual or whatever it is. But if he’s being held up for whatever [reason], we have plenty of amazing heavyweights that deserve a title shot. That deserve the limelight. So, ONE Championship, congrats on keeping it moving. Chatri doing big things, I’m a fan!”