Brandon “The Truth” Vera has easily been one of the most dominant World Champions in ONE Championship.
Ever since he entered the heavyweight division of the organization in 2014, Vera has won all four of his bouts in the weight class, none of which went past the first round.
But he may have just found his toughest obstacle yet.
Waiting for Vera is American Kickboxing Academy’s “Singh” Arjan Bhullar, who earned the number one contender status after dispatching Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli in his debut at ONE: Century Part II in October 2019.
Speaking to ONEFC.com, “The Truth” believes he is up for a tough grind against the former Olympian.
“I’m very excited to be fighting Arjan Bhullar and to defend our ONE Heavyweight World Title,” Vera said about the match-up that will happen later this year. “I think he is probably the best candidate to come face me.
“This guy is the real deal. I respect this guy tremendously. His wrestling is ridiculous. He comes from a school just like where I came from — huge pedigree.”
One aspect of Bhullar’s game that impressed Vera is his striking.
Though known as one of the best wrestlers in the organization, “Singh” displayed excellent work on the feet against Cerilli, out-striking the Italian heavyweight when everyone expected him to dominate with grappling.
“This guy has amazing boxing that nobody’s talking about,” Vera said. “This guy’s boxing is ridiculous. His head movement is crisp. He’s fast, and he likes to stay in the pocket.”
It also helps that Bhullar can keep the pace from start to finish, evident in the same match, where he absolutely picked Cerilli apart the moment the contest reached deep waters.
“Arjan has more gas than most heavyweights, and that’s something really different about him,” Vera said.
“He knows how to pace himself. Most heavyweights don’t know how to pace themselves. I’m going to have to push and test and poke in different places that he is not used to.”
Not that Vera will necessarily need to do that; the 42-year-old believes the match will not reach the final bell.
“We’re [going to be] in a championship fight. It needs to be decided between us, not the three people watching.”
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