Returning Brandon Vera ‘would rather die’ than lose Conquest

MANILA, Philippines – There’s a reason why they call Brandon Vera “The Truth.”

The 41-year-old sports and entertainment star did not mince words regarding his in-ring return at the ONE Conquest of Champions supercard on Friday, November 23 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“What I said before is still true. I would much rather die than lose in front of the Philippines,” Vera declared in the pre-fight presser. “I can’t handle that. I am just as committed. I’m giving even more. I just want it more now.”

The BuyBust movie actor and reigning ONE heavyweight world champion is set to defend his title for the first time in two years against Italian Cage Warriors knockout artist Mauro Cerilli in the main event.

Despite his busy schedule away from the cage, Vera jumped at the very first chance he got to get back.

“I felt that I couldn’t give my full attention to my office, our title, because I couldn’t have time to defend it because of the movie,” said the Filipino-American fighter. “ONE Championship blessed me, telling me that I can finish my movie and defend my title right away.”

And he knows that on top of battling ring rust in his return, his foe Cerilli is someone to be taken very seriously.

“He’s a very aggressive striker. He got that deadly overhand right that great fighters are made of,” he said. “Dan Henderson has a great overhand right. We’ve been training for that but that’s not the only thing I am preparing for. He is a big guy who is great at judo. There are a lot of things I have to be worried about.”

But Vera is extremely confident that he will do fine on Friday night.

“Am I ready after two years from being away from the center of that ring? Hell, yes,” he said to roaring applause from the fans in attendance.

“To come back, for me to be back after such a long pause in the entertainment world, and then for them to find this monster. My opponent, he beat his last 5 guys, the last 4 guys, he knocked out. Sige, game ka? Sige subukan natin! (Are you game? Okay, let’s try!)” – Rappler.com