MANILA – Brandon Vera may be facing Arjan Bhullar next, but already looking forward to his possible next opponent.
Vera, the current ONE heavyweight champion, said on Monday that he is looking forward to a potential future battle with Marcus Almeida.
The 30-year-old Brazilian fighter won nine International Brazilian Jiujitsu Federation World Championship titles in a span of 10 years.
Almeida won a total of 138 jiujitsu matches, 72 via submission, and is set to make his mixed martial arts debut at ONE Championship.
"He is a phenomenal athlete. I am very lucky to have the opportunity to possibly meet him in the 'ONE Circle'," Vera said of Almeida, who he described as a "monster".
“I am very familiar with his grappling accolades. He has beaten the best in the world and at any given moment, at any weight, he is one of the top two grapplers in the world against anyone. I am very excited he is making the transition to MMA," Vera said.
The signing of Almeida headlines ONE's newest acquisitions for the second half of the year, and some more heavyweights are joining the promotion to possibly become the next in line in the chase to take away the championship belt from Vera.
"ONE signed a plethora of amazingly talented heavyweights. I’m going to train right now!" Vera said.
In the meantime, Vera is preparing for his title defense against Bhullar either later this year or early next year depending on the situation regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. (PNA)
