Brandon Vera KOs Italian foe in 1 minute to retain ONE heavyweight belt

Brandon Vera retained his ONE World heavyweight belt after knocking our Italy’s Mauro Cerrili in just over a minute in the main event of ONE Championship’s Conquest of Champions card Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.

It took Vera (16-7) just 1:04 to finish off Cerrili (12-3) with a flash knockout in a fight that lasted faster than the time it takes a fighter to go from the locker room to the cage.

Vera landed a stiff left hook squarely on Cerrili’s jaw and prompted referee Olivier Coste to step in and stop the contest while the Italian lay down on the floor shaken.

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“The Philippines owns five World titles, we as a country can do this,” said Vera in Filipino. “Please support your martial artists because they can win. Let’s collect all the belts!”

Both fighters started out aggressively and Cerrili nearly tagged Vera before the knockout punch but it was the Filipino who landed first.

Vera said that he was aware of Cerrili’s power and that he felt the Italian’s power when the punch landed on his mouth.

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“He’s a dangerous fighter when we hit each other at the same time he split the skin of my mouth,” said Vera who waited almost two years before defending his belt.

Vera last fought in December of 2016 after he beat Hideki Sekine via knockout in a fight that lasted just 3:11.