ONE Championship fighter Brandon Vera. –ONE CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Brandon Vera does not want to let the Filipino fans down when he battles Amir Aliakbari in a heavyweight bout in ONE 164: Pacio vs Brooks on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.
In the first ONE Championship to be held in the Philippines during this pandemic era, the former ONE Heavyweight World champion vows to treat the home crowd with a victory in their three-round match.
“I’d much rather die in the circle than to lose here in the Philippines,” said Vera during the press conference at Solaire Resort and Casino on Wednesday.
The Iranian MMA star Aliakbari, though, is confident that he will beat Vera, whose last fight ended up with a TKO loss to Arjan Bhullar last April 28, 2021 in Singapore.
“I came here to the Philippines just to fight Vera. My objective is just to beat him,” said Aliakbari.
Vera assured his Filipino fans that he prepared hard for his ONE comeback after months of hiatus.
“Sobrang excited ako lumaban ulit, pero the icing on the cake was lalaban ako rito sa Manila dito sa ating bansa. Sobrang importante itong laban na to sakin,” he said. “We got the whole band back together. I flew out training partners to Guam. We had college wrestlers coming out to train with. I’ve been doing strength and conditioning since March.”
The 45-year-old Filipino-American can’t wait to enter the circle and take down Aliakbari.
“Ready na ready na ako rito. Hinihintay ko, handa mo na puwet mo Ali ah,” Vera said.