MANILA, Philippines – It took only 26 seconds for Brandon Vera to become ONE FC's heavyweight world champion Friday, December 11 at ONE: Spirit of Champions.
The Filipino-American knocked out Taiwanese-Canadian Paul Cheng in less than 30 seconds in the main event, going on the offensive from the bell and eventually landing a head kick to seal the deal.
Vera, 38, improved to 14-7 before an adoring home crowd, while Cheng, who accepted the bout on a 72-hour notice, announced his retirement hours after the loss.
Another Filipino Eugene Toquero charmed the crowd with his charisma from his walk to the cage and until after he scored a technical knockout victory over Chinese Li Wei Bin.
The rest of the Filipinos on the fightcard fell short as Mark Striegl suffered an upset at the hands of Reece McLaren; Ana Julaton lost via unanimous decision to Irina Mazepa; and Ruel Catalan was forced into submission in Round 1 by Alex Silva.
Check out photos from ONE Championship's year-end Manila event below!
– Rappler.com