Brandon Vera now knows the feeling of having championship gold strapped around his waist.
Vera knocked out Paul Cheng in the first round of their One Championship 35 “Spirit of Champions” main event on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manilla, Philippines, capturing the Singapore-based promotion’s vacant heavyweight crown. Cheng (5-2) met his end 26 seconds into round one, and it was brutal.
There was no feeling-out process. Vera (14-7) tagged the Taiwanese export with a pair of leg kicks, dropped him to a knee with a short left hand and leveled him with a subsequent head kick as he rose to his feet.