Brandon Vera defended the land
ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera (15-7-0, 1NC) showed no rust as he stopped the undefeated Japanese heavyweight Hideki Sekine (7-1), Friday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
This was Vera’s first fight in 346 days, and it was deja vu as he was able to win his first title defense the same way he had won the belt.
As expected, the champion opened his first title defense with kicks. However, even if he has a 15 centimeter disadvantage in height, Sekine kept low. A knee by Vera with three minutes and 3 ticks remaining rocked the challenger. He tried to take Vera down but The Truth had none of it.
“Alam ko naman na gusto niya akong mapaabot ng isang round,” Vera said. “Ilag siya ng ilag pero hindi niya kaya.”
A right body kick by the 39-year-old with 1:58 left knocked the Japanese heavyweight down. Vera then went for the kill and, with 10 seconds left, referee Yuji Shimada had seen enough, stopping the contest.
“Hindi ako titigil,” the champion vowed.
ONE Championship: Age of Domination main event result
December 2, 2016 – SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City
ONE Heavyweight World Championship: Brandon Vera def. Hideki Sekine via referee’s stoppage-ground and pound (Rd 1: 3:11) to retain the championship
