Brandon Vera moves from ONE circle to big screen after retirement

MANILA, Philippines — Former ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera will be trading the ring for movie sets as he announced his retirement after two decades in the sport at ONE 164 at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday night.

Vera, 45, suffered a loss against Iran's Amir Aliakbari via TKO in the opening round of their contest in the main card of ONE Championship's return to Manila.

Having been in the MMA industry since 2002, Vera said it is time to change careers.

"Pasensya ha. Kababayan, dito at sa buong mundo, ang tagal ko nang ginagawa ito, mga 20 plus years na. Eto ngayon, you just witnessed 'The Truth''s very last fight in MMA." an emotional Vera said after the fight.

"I wish I could've went out with the win, I broke my damn hand again, p********. Mahal ko kayong lahat. Salamat sa inyong pagmamahal sa akin. I love you all, thank you for everything that you've given me MMA, ONE Championship." he added.

A standing ovation greeted Vera in his last exit from the ONE Circle, as he left his gloves inside — a gesture signaling the end of his MMA journey.

The Fil-Am MMA icon was the Singapore promotion's first-ever heavyweight champion and reigned supreme until 2021 when he was dethroned by India's Arjan Bhullar.

Vera was among the five Filipino world champions who simultaneously held their belts at the end of 2018, which marked a golden age for the country in ONE Championship.

Though he won't be seeing action in the ONE Circle anymore, Vera promised his fans they would see him again — this time on a movie screen.

"To all my fans around the world, even though I'm not in here, you'll see me on the big screen. We just signed a 10-movie deal here in the Philippines." said Vera.

"Panoorin niyo yung pelikula ko." he quipped.

Vera finished his MMA career with a 16-10, 1 NC record.