![Brandon Vera (R) will make his return to action in Manila against Amir Aliakbari (L) at ONE 164. | [Photos: ONEChampionship]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/11/4e675-16675300982809-1920.jpg)
![Brandon Vera (R) will make his return to action in Manila against Amir Aliakbari (L) at ONE 164. | [Photos: ONEChampionship]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Brandon Vera will make his highly anticipated return to the Circle at ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks. The 45-year-old will face Iranian wrestling champion Amir Aliakbari.
ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong broke the news in an interview with CNN Philippines Sports Desk. He was joined by Vera, who shared his excitement about the upcoming fight.
Watch the announcement below:
The event will take place at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila on Saturday, December 3rd. It follows the epic ONE on Prime Video 5 blockbuster, which broadcasts live via Prime Video just a few hours before. This fight weekend is the first time ONE Championship is back in the Philippines since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brandon Vera hasn’t seen action in the Circle since his loss to now reigning ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan ‘Singh’ Bhullar in April 2021. He’s only fought three times in the last four years, but has focused on other aspects of his life such as becoming a first-time father, and progressing his burgeoning acting career in the Philippines.
Amir Aliakbari joined ONE Championship in February 2021, but was met with early adversity in the Circle. The brash and confident Iranian suffered back-to-back knockout losses to Kang Ji Won and Anatoly Malykhin that year.
Aliakbari returned to competition in August of 2022, scoring a much-needed victory over former ONE world title challenger Mauro ‘The Hammer’ Cerilli to win via second-round technical knockout.
With Vera looking to get back in the win column and perhaps reinsert his name into the world title picture, Aliakbari aims to put a screeching halt to the Filipino-American’s plans.
ONE 164 also features a main event showdown between reigning ONE strawweight world champion Joshua ‘The Passion’ Pacio and No.1-ranked contender Jarred ‘The Monkey God’ Brooks, as well as appearances from Team Lakay elite all throughout the stacked card.
There is no love lost between Brandon Vera and Amir Aliakbari
When Amir Aliakbari joined ONE Championship early last year, he immediately began calling out the heavyweight division’s elite, including Brandon Vera, who was the reigning king at the time.
Aliakbari infamously said that he would come to “smash” the champion and take his belt. In a past interview with SCMP MMA, the trash-talking Iranian said:
“I’m ready for a title shot. I don’t need other fights, I think I’m ready to fight him.”
To which Vera replied:
“You talk about smashing faces? All right. welcome to ONE, let’s see how it goes.”
After Aliakbari suffered a TKO defeat to Kang Ji Won and Brandon Vera couldn’t help but send a message to the wrestling champion. ‘The Truth’ said:
“I know me and Amir have got this little thing going back and forth. I hope you rest well, speedy recovery, get ready for the next one. Like I’ve been telling everybody all along man, it’s different here in Asia, it’s different in ONE Championship.”
