One of the most anticipated fights of the year for ONE Championship is finally happening this Friday, December 11 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Philippines. ONE: SPIRIT OF CHAMPIONS is set to play host to the colossal heavyweight clash between bitter rivals, Brandon "The Truth" Vera (13-7) and Chi "Chopper" Lewis-Parry (6-0).
At stake is the inaugural ONE Heavyweight World Championship to be awarded to the winner of the much awaited showdown.
Vera's first fight on Philippine soil was short and sweet.
The 6-foot 2-inch tall Muay Thai specialist, an American with deep Filipino roots, debuted for ONE Championship a little over a year ago in impressive fashion.
Before fans were able to get P. Diddy's catchy "Coming Home" tune out of their heads, which Vera walked out to, the Fil-Am knocked out former URCC champion Igor Subora of the Ukraine and needed just a few minutes in the first round to do so.
Against the undefeated Lewis-Parry, himself a towering 6-foot 9-inches and pushing 250 pounds, Vera is up against a monster of a challenge.
"I've trained with bigger, better guys in this camp who have been grinding me about length, leverage and distance," said Vera, working on the aspects of his game he will need to improve to handle Lewis-Parry.
While Lewis-Parry may have the size and strength advantage, Vera owns him in experience, having fought the biggest names in the sport at heavyweight and light heavyweight.
The years of experience played a huge factor in Vera's win over Subora last December.
While some media surprisingly picked his Ukrainian opponent to pull off the upset, Vera beat Subora with ease, despite battling through an injury.
"I was injured last fight with a major problem and camp was short and very choppy," said Vera. "This was a full camp, and I have no big injuries and my gas tank has never been this full."
The man they call "Chopper" is certainly no pushover. At six wins and no losses, Lewis-Parry also debuted successfully for the promotion with an impressive TKO victory over the stout Alain Ngalani in July of last year.
For the most part, the Englishman, a former professional basketball player in the UK, is unfazed by Vera's superstar status and sees it as an opportunity to score a huge victory over a universally recognized elite fighter.
"I asked for this fight a long time ago. It's simple. I wanted it, the fans wanted it so now you're going to see it. It's going to be fun," said Lewis-Parry, who credits himself with putting this fight together. "I genuinely love [the fans]! Without them, there is no real 'Chopper' Chi!"
Lewis-Parry, who once considered playing scrimmage games in the Philippines against a few professional basketball teams of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), just to raise his popularity in Manila, taunted and egged Vera on social media and literally everywhere he could think of until Vera agreed to take the fight.
"I have a personality," said Lewis-Parry. "That makes me stand out more than 99% of the fighters out there. I'm reality in the form of a fighter. I'm a big and beautiful shade of brown. That's all I need!"
An obviously irked Vera would accept the challenge, and take it as another chance to perform in front of his hometown crowd, and this time to compete for the ONE Heavyweight World Championship.
Asked what his strengths were coming into this matchup with Lewis-Parry, the sharp-tongued Vera was quick to retort.
"I see my speed and devotion to whip Chi's ass as an advantage in the cage," Vera said.
The two behemoths are set to square off for five rounds to determine who reigns supreme.
When they finally see each other from across the canvas, with only the appointed referee standing between them, the tension in the arena will be so thick you could cut it with a knife.
And when that bell rings, fans expect all hell to break loose.
"I feel like a king waiting to be crowned," said the charismatic yet defiant Lewis-Parry.
Vera, on the other hand, was quick to pay his respects to the fans who put him in this position.
"I know it's been a full year. I promise I have been training the whole time waiting for this opportunity to come home and win for myself, my family and the nation," said Vera.
"Mabuhay and see y'all soon! Salamat!"