“I'm sorry, it's been so long, fam” - Brandon Vera hyped up for his return to the Circle

Former ONE heavyweight world champion and Filipino-American MMA icon Brandon Vera will make his much-awaited return to action at ONE 164 on December 3.

His opponent will be Iranian grappling superstar Amir Aliakbari on the main card of the event. The bout will take place on Vera's home turf of Manila in the Philippines.

It's been over a year since we saw 'The Truth' in action. The last time Vera was seen inside the Circle was in a back-to-back losing bid to Aung La N Sang and ONE heavyweight world champion, Arjan Bhullar, respectively.

Now at the age of 45, the Filipino-American MMA star is still eager fight and perform in front of his fans. In a heart-felt interview with CNN Sports Desk, the former ONE heavyweight king addressed his fans and what it feels like to finally fight again:

“Man, I want to apologize to all our kababayan [countrymen] that it's been so long, but during Corona, it was very hard to find training partners in the beginning because, no touch - you couldn't train with anybody. Yeah. And then it became easier as it started opening up around the world. As it opened up around the world, man, everybody's training now, everybody's getting on it and I'm excited to perform in front of our kababayan [countrymen] in Manila. Oh my God. Sobrang excited na talaga. [I'm very excited]. I'm sorry, it's been so long, fam. Sorry.”

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ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong believes Brandon Vera is working to get back into world title contention

Also speaking to CNN Sports Desk was ONE CEO and Chairman Chatri Siyodtong, who spoke about the immediate future of Brandon Vera's career.

In the interview, Sityodtong spoke about Vera's ardent love for his countrymen. Also, even at 45 he is still very much motivated to bring the belt back to his homeland.

Sityodtong said:

"He [Vera] is obviously a superstar, and he's not just the most decorated Filipino athlete in ONE, but I would argue he's the most decorated Filipino athlete in martial arts, full stop, ever. He's reached the pinnacle of the sport in ONE and I think he's hungry to get his title back."

With new technologies, methods and systems in sports science today, athletes have found ways to push past the limits brought forth by age. With fine examples like former world champions like Randy Couture, Glover Teixeira and former ONE bantamweight king Bibiano Fernandes, there's a chance Brandon Vera will be able to do the same.