Although he has spent two years on the sidelines, ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera believes that the proverbial ring rust apply does not apply to decorated athletes like him as he makes his highly-anticipated return on Friday.
The 41-year-old native of San Diego, California is set to square off against Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli of Italy in the main event of ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS, which takes place at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
Vera last saw action inside the ONE Championship cage when he successfully defended his gold-plated strap against Hideki “Shrek” Sekine via first-round technical knockout at ONE: AGE OF DOMINATION in December 2016.
"A human being doesn't rust. The nervousness is there, but being rusty? I don't think so," Vera said at the ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS Kick-Off Press Conference on Tuesday, 20 November.
"If there's rust, I'm certain that once Cerilli hits me, it will all go away. I am just so ready for this," he added.
Cerilli vouched for Vera’s claim as he believes that the Filipino-American superstar will show up in tip-top shape on Friday.
"Every fighter lives for the sport. Even though Brandon left for two years to film a movie, I'm sure he is 100 percent ready for the bout," Cerilli stated.
Ever since his first-round demolition of Sekine, Vera has been away from the mixed martial arts limelight as he opted to briefly hang up his gloves to try his hand in the glitzy and glamorous world of show business.
Along with ensemble cast top-billed by multi-awarded actress Anne Curtis, Vera starred in the critically-acclaimed film entitled “BuyBust,” which grossed over US$18 million worldwide in the box-office.
Despite his newfound love for acting, Vera is temporarily moving away from the actor’s chair to step inside the ONE Championship cage once again to put his intricately-crafted ONE Heavyweight World Title on the line against a tough Italian opposition.
Vera's time off from active competition had some of his fans thinking that he may not be as sharp as before, but he begs to differ.
"Am I ready after spending two years away from the cage? Hell yes. I’ve prepared very hard for this bout. I’ve trained every day, in between traffic, shoots, and everything in the middle," he explained.
Although an arduous assignment awaits in his cage comeback, Vera remains optimistic that the outcome of the five-round championship clash with Cerilli is him having his hand raised in decisive fashion.
"I am confident of victory. I’m still hungry, and I want it more now. Mauro [Cerilli] is a worthy opponent. He’s been knocking guys out while I was away, and I am in no way underestimating him," he concluded.