Vera moves on from first ONE loss, sets sights on defending heavyweight belt

A bloodied Aung La N Sang celebrates after stopping Brandon Vera in the second round of their world title fight in the main event of ONE: Century Sunday, October 13, 2019, at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. Aung La, who is also the current middleweight champion, retained his light heavyweight belt. Photo from ONE Championship

MANILA, Philippines—Reigning ONE heavyweight world champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera did not hide his disappointment after his failed bid to become a two-division world champion in the biggest night of ONE Championship.

Vera absorbed his first loss in the organization following a second-round stoppage at the hands of light heavyweight titleholder Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang in the main event of the historic ONE: Century at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.

As promised, Vera brought the heat and went toe-to-toe with Aung La.

But it just was not his night as the Kachin State hero absorbed his best shots, countered them, and scored a TKO.

“Sometimes, things don’t go as planned, sometimes no matter how hard you chase them, no matter how you work hard, it still don’t turn out perfect,” Vera said.

Disappointed and all, the 42-year-old still tipped his hat off to Aung La, a man he quite admires in martial arts.

“Am I happy? No. Am I mad? Yeah. But, Mr. Aung La N Sang, congratulations again. You deserve it, you earned it, man you’re a tough bastard. Everyone else, I’ll see you soon.”

Despite the unfavorable outcome, the Filipino-American superstar still has plenty of reasons to keep his head held high.

After all, Vera remains the king of the heavyweights and he plans to defend that belt soon.

“Still the heavyweight world champion, still defending that ASAP. Thank you everyone for coming to Japan, thank you for your help, thank you ONE Championship,” Vera said.

He might have fell short now, but Vera’s plans to pursue a second title in a different division is still on.

“Sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want. That doesn’t mean you have to stop chasing your dreams.”