NOT that he really needs one but ONE Championship world heavyweight champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera got added motivation after recently welcoming his son Atreyu Timothy with wife Jessica.
Always anchored his game on passion and much hard work, Mr. Vera, 42, shared that becoming a father at this stage of his life and career has added extra motor for him to continue what he does and succeed in it.
“It is easier to wake up. I can agree with this statement. I feel more motivated. I get tired less. I don’t know how and why, but that happened,” said Mr. Vera, who joined ONE in 2014 and instantly made waves, winning the inaugural world heavyweight title.
“I can’t describe how Atreyu was born just like I can’t describe what it’s like to win in the ONE Circle. It’s two peas in the same pod, no words would ever do that justice,” he added.
The veteran Filipino-American fighter, who has had memorable encounters with mixed martial arts legends like Randy Couture, Jon Jones, Mauricio Rua and Frank Mir in his career, said he does not see becoming a father intervening in what he wants to accomplish in ONE Championship as what others may be preserving.
“Everybody keeps saying priorities change, I am not of that same mindset. Family has always been number one for me. I have been waiting for a long time to change diapers, feed the baby, and train with my child in the gym. All plans are still the same. We’re the world champ, we act accordingly and we keep our title until we decide it is time for the next step,” said Mr. Vera.
Since seizing the world heavyweight title, Mr. Vera has stayed on top of the division in ONE, successfully defending his title three times already.
He competed for the light heavyweight title in his last fight in October 2019 against reigning champion Aung La N Sang but failed in his bid to become a two-division world champ, falling to the Burmese fighter by technical knockout (punches) in the second round.
ONE recently has been shoring up the heavyweight division, signing up fighters like Brazilian Marcus Almeida, India’s Arjan Bhullar and Iranian Ali Abdelaziz, giving Mr. Vera new challenges when he returns to fight.
The Truth, however, is undaunted and expressed his readiness to take on all-comers for his title.
“The level of competition has just increased exponentially. ONE Championship is making a very comfortable home for the big boys and giving me a lot of work to do. I’m looking forward to all of it. I’m going to train right now!” said Mr. Vera.
ONE Championship, meanwhile, stages its second live event on Aug. 14 after taking a long break because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dubbed ONE: No Surrender II, the event to be held at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, will be headlined by the bantamweight muay thai clash between Thais Saemapetch Fairtex and Rodlek PK.Saechai Muaythaigym. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
