ALLAN THE MAN

Filipino-American fighter Brandon "The Truth" Vera made short work of his Taiwanese foe on Friday night to become the first ONE heavyweight champion in front of his Filipino fans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Vera caught a charging Paul Cheng with a short left to the face, dropping the Taiwanese giant for a second.

Cheng quickly got up but was sent back to the ground after getting hit with a kick to the head. Vera followed him to the ground and pummeled Cheng with hammer fists before the referee stepped in to stop the carnage.

The bout was officially halted 26 seconds into the first round.

“Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat,” Vera said while addressing the Filipino crowd. “Now, you have a heavyweight world champion.”

Cheng served as a fill-in for British giant Chi Lewis-Parry, who was pulled from the event in a controversial last-minute change.

Lewis-Parry failed to submit his medical results and drugs test for the heavyweight title fight. He also failed to board the plane departing from London to Manila. Hence, ONE Championship was forced to set the bout with Cheng.

“When I found out I was fighting Cheng, the camp changed overnight. I didn’t sleep that night. I lost the whole evening staying up, watching Paul Cheng’s videos,” Vera said about the late replacement.

“It was a big deal... Paul Cheng retired somebody in his last fight,” said the former UFC fighter. “That made me nervous.”

Regarding Lewis-Parry, who swapped thrash talk with him before their supposed bout, Vera said he’s still willing to fight the cocky Brit.

“I put out a video and asked for his gym address and still waiting to hear back from him,” said Vera.

“He’s not a man. This sport is for men only and he’s not. He should be in professional wrestling that requires acting. There’s no acting here.”

ONE Championship also paid tribute to Chinese fighter Yang Jian Bing who died after reportedly having struggles with weight-cutting before the weigh-in.

The promotion called on the crowd to offer a minute of silence to Yang who passed away at the San Juan De Dios Hospital in Pasay City due to cardiopulmonary failure.

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