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Former ONE heavyweight world champion Brandon Vera is gearing up for his highly anticipated return to the circle this Saturday. The bout will take place at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. ‘The Truth’ will return to the circle after an 18-month layoff to take on dangerous Iranian Greco-Roman wrestling world champion, Amir Aliakbari.
At 45 years old and coming off back-to-back losses, Saturday’s return for Vera could very well be a win-or-go-home situation. Should ‘The Truth’ get past Aliakbari, he has another potential opponent in mind.
In an interview with The MMA Superfan, Vera spoke about a potential meeting with undefeated heavyweight Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida and his strategy against the 16-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) world champion:
“I would work with him. I wouldn’t just sit there and hold either, I would try to make him work positions. If he’s gonna try to catch something, we’re gonna do rep after rep after rep before you catch. We’re gonna do reps. He's a master so you just have to be in shape and keep rolling with him.”
Brandon Vera’s return to the cage will be just one of the many highlights this weekend, as ONE Championship brings a stacked double-header to Manila, which all culminates in a ONE strawweight world title showdown between hometown hero Joshua Pacio and outspoken No.1-ranked contender, Jarred ‘The Monkey God’ Brooks.
Watch the full interview below:
The stakes are higher than ever for Brandon Vera at ONE 164
Brandon Vera could find himself on two very different ends of the spectrum depending on how his ONE 164 showdown with Amir Aliakbari goes. Eager to get back into the heavyweight title picture, Vera has the chance to do exactly that with a spectacular win on Saturday night.
However, if ‘The Truth’ finds himself on the losing end in front of the Manila crowd, it could very well mean the end of a fairly successful run under the ONE Championship banner. ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong discussed the high-stakes matchup in a recent interview with the CNN Sports Desk.
“The haters say Brandon is done; his time in the sunshine is over. Brandon wants to prove otherwise, he's taking on a very tough opponent, a KO artist, a wrestler. And if Brandon can come out shining, he's very much back into the title conversation."
Sityodtong continued, saying:
"So the stakes are very, very high. Of course, if he loses in spectacular fashion, then the question really is, you know, have the best days of Brandon Vera gone by? That's the real question that we want to see right now and Filipino fans are going to be rooting for him. No doubt.”
