After his successful run as both a mixed martial artist and film actor this year, ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth’’ Vera aims to sustain his momentum going into 2019.
From his must-see action thriller “BuyBust” to his spectacular title defense, the Filipino-American superstar plans to have a proactive new year both inside and outside the cage.
“I'm planning to have a busy 2019 doing both entertainment and coming back to the cage,” the 41-year-old champion stated.
“I have three upcoming movies, two of which will be filmed here in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong.
“I have a lot of other entertainment projects lined up. We’re going to finish those, and I’ll come back as soon as I can. But I promise you, I will never be out for two years again.”
Despite being out of the cage for nearly two years, Vera successfully defended his heavyweight belt against Italy’s Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli in the main event of ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS this past November.
“The Truth” displayed his impressive timing and accurate striking in front of his countrymen en route to a 64-second knockout victory.
For Vera, he is just following the trail of what he wants to do, which includes mixed martial arts, movie projects, endorsements, and, eventually, a run for political office.
“I positioned myself to become the ‘Filipino Truth,’ wherein you can follow the path I will lay out for you so you can see where I want to go,” he said.
“I know I’m doing a lot, but I take it one day at a time – chin down, hands up, one foot in front of the other – moving carefully.”
After successfully defending his title for the second time, Vera wants to pursue his dream to compete in “The Land Of The Rising Sun” and be a part of ONE: GREATNESS UNLEASHED—the promotion's second live event in Tokyo, Japan on 11 October.
He already has the perfect opponent in mind for his potential bout in Japan.
Vera revealed his intention of moving down a division to vie for the ONE Light Heavyweight World Title, which is currently held by two-division ONE World Champion “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang.
“I would love to fight in Japan in October next year, and challenge whoever has possession of the light heavyweight belt,” he mentioned.
“Right now, it’s Aung La N Sang. He’s an amazing athlete, and that is why I want to face him. I want to be up against the best athletes in the world until my body doesn’t want to do it anymore."
Whether he gets the title shot he is hoping for or not, Vera's ultimate goal is to go down in mixed martial arts history as one of the greatest competitors to ever set foot in the cage.
“It’s my goal to become one of the best in the history of this sport,” he vowed. “No one is going to stop me."
