Brandon Vera has finally put down his fighting gloves. But don’t think for a second we’ve seen the last of The Truth. He plans to stick around for the fans, but in a different world this time.
The truth is, Brandon Vera should not have fought at ONE 164. He is 45 and has been a once-a-year fighter since 2018. He has also lost his last two fights, both by brutal TKOs.
Yet The Truth was there, up against Amir Aliakbari—11 years younger and noticeably faster, quicker, and fresher than the grizzled, aged Vera.
The result was unsurprising. Aliakbari took Vera down—easily—and rained a hail of punches and elbows on the turtled up veteran. Just like that, the fight was over.
Vera later rued the stoppage as being premature. He is right. Even ONE CEO Chatry Sityodtong agrees with him. And that may be true in many cases. But not in the case of a 45-year-old family man who has been stopped 7 times in his 20+ years as a mixed martial artist.
Minutes later, Vera announced his retirement, putting an end to one of MMA’s most storied careers. It had to have been bittersweet for Vera, the warrior that he is. But it was the right thing to do. It was the right time to do it.
But this has to be it for The Truth. No more one last ride. There is nothing else to prove. Vera has had quite the career, making it to the UFC in the mid-2000s and sharing the Octagon with the sport’s luminaries—from Randy Couture, Mauricio Rua, and Jon Jones at light heavyweight to Fabricio Werdum, Tim Sylvia, and Frank Mir at heavyweight.
Then, in the mid-2010s, Vera jumped ship to then-fledging ONE Championship, where he proved to be a massive draw, a true-blue superstar. He would go on to win the promotion’s inaugural heavyweight title in 2015 and defend it twice—all while becoming one of ONE’s true ambassadors.
Vera’s retirement from the sport, though, does not mean he will ride off to the proverbial sunset. He will stick around and people will still see him. In fact, a lot more people might see him if his post-MMA career plan pans out. That plan is to go into show business full-time. And it appears Vera has that all figured out, telling fans they will see him on the big screen as he had “just signed a 10-movie deal in the Philippines.”
“Panoorin niyo pelikula ko,” Vera exhorted the crowd.
The Truth’s career shift to show business figures to be smooth and seamless, mostly because it won’t be Vera’s first rodeo. The former world champion made his showbiz debut way back in 2007 as an assassin in the TV series “Kamandag.” It was not until 2018 that Vera made his big screen debut—but it was worth the wait. The Truth co-starred in the critically acclaimed action-thriller “BuyBust” and received praise for his portrayal of the magnanimous but bad-ass cop Rico Yatco.
Vera next starred in the zombie apocalypse action-thriller “Day Zero,” where he played the ex-special forces soldier named Emon. Once more, The Truth shined even if the film didn’t, with his action scenes calling to mind the on-screen exploits of another large, charismatic ex-athlete-turned-movie star: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The Truth’s second career is potentially lucrative and satisfying—hopefully enough to keep Vera from thinking about the fight game ever again.
Vera already looks the part. He can fight for real and he has quite the fan base already. He can be a flop, yes, but he can just as well be the Philippines’ next big action star, or the Dwayne Johnson of Asia. He might even be an international movie star someday.
The truth is, Brandon Vera’s future is up in the air—like everyone else’s. But that future should have everything to do with show business and nothing to do with MMA.
It is time for The Truth to win somewhere else. The box office looks like a good start.