By Jun Ray Navarres
ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera is busy training for his upcoming world title defense but he had enough time to spare and witness Amir Aliakbari taking on Kang Ji Won in the headline of ONE: FISTS OF FURY II last Friday night.
Both heavyweight fighters were a potential contender to Vera’s belt but the Iranian Greco-Roman Wrestling World Champion Aliakbari, in particular, has been calling out the heavyweight king ever since signing his ONE contract last year.
“Might Warrior” Ji Won, however, spoiled Aliakbari’s promotional debut, dropping the Iranian stalwart in the very first round of the fight with a left hook.
Vera couldn’t let the moment pass and reiterated his warnings to Aliakbari.
“I wanted to give a shout out to all the heavyweights on the card, everyone on the card actually, did a great job,” said Vera.
“Like I’ve been telling everybody all along man, it’s different here in Asia, it’s different in ONE Championship. Don’t worry about everyone. You can worry about that person standing right in front of you, especially when they close that door on our Circle.”
“The Truth” who’s preparing for his next title defense is currently based in Sanford MMA in Florida alongside former opponent ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang, and former two-division ONE World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen, among others.
Vera is expected to return in action soon as the bout with former UFC star Arjan Singh Bhullar looms.
Aliakbari on the other hand is scheduled to make a quick return to action against undefeated Russian powerhouse Anatoly “Spartak” Malykhin at the “ONE on TNT” event series.
And Vera hopes to see a better Amir Aliakbari in his next ONE outing.
“I know me and Amir have got this little thing going back and forth. I hope you rest well, speedy recovery, get ready for the next one,” said the Filipino-American champion.
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