Brandon Vera (Photo : ONE Championship)
Filipino-American Brandon "The Truth" Vera made quick work of Taiwan's Paul "Typhoon" Cheng, stopping his opponent within moments of the opening bell to claim the inaugural ONE Heavyweight World Championship.
Vera opened the bout by dropping Cheng with a counter left hook after Cheng was caught over-extending on a missed punch. Vera followed up with a high kick that landed flush, sending Cheng down to the canvas. From there, Vera rained down hammer fists to force a stoppage.
With the victory, Vera becomes the first winner of the ONE Heavyweight World Championship, defeating Cheng after original opponent Chi Lewis Parry pulled out of the contest due to failing to submit medical documents.
Also, Reece "Lightning" McLaren of Queensland, Australia shocked the hometown crowd by beating Mark "Mugen" Striegl by submission in the second round of a bantamweight contest.
McLaren invested in leg kicks early, slowing down an aggressive yet composed Striegl who was determined to use his wrestling to take McLaren to the ground.
Striegl dropped McLaren with a short right elbow followed up by a technical ground kick, but failed to finish off the Australian.
In the final round, McLaren had just enough to outlast Striegl, as he locked in a rear naked choke to earn the victory.
The loss ended Striegl's two-fight win streak.
Earlier in the evening, Irina Mazepa of St. Petersburg, Russia barrelled through her opponent to score her second victory inside the ONE Cage, defeating former women's boxing world champion Ana "Hurricane" Julaton.
Julaton began the bout looking to take Mazepa down to the mat but had difficulty with Mazepa's exceptional takedown defense.
Striking superiority belonged to the former Russian kickboxing standout, as Mazepa stifled Julaton throughout the fight with powerful strikes.
In the end, Mazepa owned the advantage in both the stand-up and in the clinch, doing just enough to receive a unanimous decision from all three judges.
ONE: Spirit of Champions caps off a solid year for ONE Championship, as they look to take it up a notch in 2016.
