Makaraang gumawa ng pangalan sa Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), naglipatbakod na si Brandon Vera sa One Fighting Championship (OneFC) at asam niyang dito muling pagningningin ang bahagyang lumamlam na bituin.

“I was having contract negotiations with the UFC, until, all of a sudden in the media releases it said that I was released. Literally, within hours after news broke out that I was released, I started getting phone calls from different promotions asking `Brandon, what are you doing? Where are you at? Where do you wanna fight? You wanna come here? You wanna do this? So, I just kind of went along with it. It was a seamless transition, I would say,” pagbabahagi ni Vera sa Balita sa isang one-on-one interview.

“And then the OneFC called. It didn’t take long, nor did it take a lot of convincing for me to say yes and sign with them.”

Empleyadong lasing, patay matapos sapakin ng ginising na katrabaho

Ayon kay Vera, hindi naging mahirap para sa kanya na pumayag na mapasama sa hanay ng mga fighter ng OneFC.

“The respect aspect, I would say, is what clinched it for me. The OneFC takes care of their fighters. I’m not talking about the money or fame, it’s just the way they take care of their fighters. They treat them like the fighters are the ones bringing in money to the organization. They treat them like family, they make sure that the fighters are okay, that everything is okay with them. A lot of organizations don’t do that, they treat their fighters like pawns,” aniya.

Sabi pa ni Vera, ang pagtuturingan bilang pamilya sa loob ng nasabing organisasyon ay isang dahilan kung bakit niya nakikita ang sarili na magtatagal bilang bahagi nito. At dahil dito, naniniwala siyang hindi malayong marami pang mga kilalang mixed martial artists ang lilipat sa OneFC sa hinaharap.

“I wanna say yes, 100 percent guaranteed, that more fighters will transfer. If you put all the fighters in the world, including those from the OneFC, in a one fight deal, and let them talk to other organizations, they would figure it out for themselves who’s gonna take care of them and who won’t. Who has the record of empty promises and who doesn’t. I think fighters around the world, will figure it out sooner than later how OneFC takes care of its people and that’s gonna be a huge, huge deal,” sabi ng 37-anyos na Filipino-American MMA fighter.

At sa Disyembre 5, nais suklian ni Vera ang pagtitiwala sa kanya ng MMA promotion, pati na rin ang mga kababayang Pinoy na hindi tumigil sa paniniwala at pagsuporta sa kanya sa pamamagitan ng pagkuha ng panalo sa kanyang unang OneFC bout bilang isa sa mga headliner ng “OneFC: Warrior’s Way” na gaganapin sa Mall of Asia Arena.

Nakatakdang makipagsukatan ng galing si Vera kontra Igor Subora ng Ukraine sa heavyweight division.

“I’ve always wanted to fight in the Philippines,” sambit ni Vera na tinatawag ring “The Truth” sa mundo ng MMA. “Ever since I started fighting in the MMA, gusto ko talagang lumaban sa harap ng mga kababayan ko. And this is my chance. Soon as I was told that my first OneFC bout will happen here in Manila, I literally could not contain my excitement. I’m sweating right now as I think about it. I’m very excited.”

“It’s very important to me that my family, the Vera side, will get to see me fight here. It’s very cool that they’ll get to enjoy this with me.”

At kahit inamin niyang may nararamdaman pa rin siyang kaba sa kanyang napipintong pagbabalik sa loob ng octagon, naniniwala si Vera na mas may lamang siya URCC heavyweight champion na si Subora.

“I’ve watched a couple of Igor’s videos. I’ve been watching them over and over. I know Igor has a lot of power. He has very strong punches, and he has knocked out a few guys. But I’m going to use my speed against him. Back in the day, even some of the best strikers can’t catch me,” ani Vera.

“I’ve started training really hard. I’m doing a lot of strength and conditioning. I’ll be bringing a lot of training partners out here to help me prepare. I’m doing a lot of everything to get me ready.”

At bago ang kanilang nakatakdang paghaharap, isang mensahe ang iniwan ni Vera para sa makakasagupang Ukrainian, na kilala rin sa tawag na “Sugar Free.”