Brandon Vera has never held a mixed martial arts championship, though that will soon change if all goes according to plan for the Lloyd Irvin protégé.
Vera checked in at 247.5 pounds ahead of his showdown with Paul Cheng (250) for the vacant heavyweight crown in the One Championship 35 “Spirit of Champions” headliner on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. The two heavyweights cleared their final hurdle at Thursday’s official weigh-in.
The 38-year-old Vera made his promotional debut at One Championship 23 a little more than a year ago, when he snapped a two-fight losing streak with a first-round technical knockout over Igor Subora.