“Is it really like this?” - Brandon Vera recalls Arjan Bhullar, Eddie Alvarez being shocked at ONE culture

With more than 20 years of experience in mixed martial arts, Brandon Vera has appeared in some of the biggest organizations in the world and has seen it all. When it comes to ONE Championship, the culture stands alone.

With a CEO that puts the fighters first and a genuine concern for one another behind the curtain, ONE is regularly referred to as a family rather than a business.

Ahead of his highly-anticipated return to the Circle at ONE 164 on December 3rd, ‘The Truth’ shared his thoughts on the culture of ONE Championship, saying:

“At ONE Championship, in the back end, culture is modern day samurai. People are finding you things if you need things or getting you stuff when you need things. Everybody’s asking you ‘How are you doing?’ Each fighter is saying ‘How did camp go?’ ‘How are you guys?’ ‘Is everything ok?’”

Brandon Vera also discussed the culture shock that heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar and former world champion Eddie Alvarez experienced upon their entry into the promotion:

“It’s mind-blowing how different the culture is in the back, it’s crazy how different the culture is. Like everybody just comes over. Even Arjan [Bhullar], he asked me when he first came over. ‘Is this really how it is? Is it really like this?’ Even Eddie Alvarez says the same thing, is it always like this? The culture is different in ONE Championship.”

Watch the interview below:

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Brandon Vera looks forward to returning to where his ONE Championship career began at ONE 164

When Brandon Vera heads to the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila on December 3rd for his ONE Championship debut, he will be back in the building where it all began. On December 5th, 2014, ‘The Truth’ made his promotional debut at ONE: Warrior’s Way.

That night, Vera earned a first-round knockout against Igor Surbora. It would be the first in a four-fight win streak that would see Vera capturing the inaugural ONE heavyweight world championship. In less than two weeks, Vera will return to that very arena with hopes of adding another big victory to his resume against Iranian wrestler Amir Aliakbari.

In an interview with CNN Sports Desk just days out from his long-awaited return, Brandon Vera shared his excitement to head back to the Mall of Asia Arena and give his hometown crowd a show:

“I'm more than ecstatic to be coming back to Manila. This is reminiscent of my feelings from when ONE Championship first brought me out to Manila, and we held the first show at MOA [Mall of Asia] that I was part of. I am beyond excited, beyond ecstatic, I cannot wait for this event.”