WATCH: Former heavyweight world champ Brandon Vera congratulates Anatoly Malykhin backstage

Filipino living legend Brandon Vera gave major respect to Anatoly Malykhin backstage following his TKO victory at ONE on Prime Video 5.

‘The Truth’ attended the double-header event with his family on December 3 in the Philippines, which took place in the morning hours before his eventual showdown with Amir Aliakbari at ONE 164.

Meeting Malykhin backstage, Vera went out of his way to personally congratulate the Russian stalwart for shocking the world with a first-round finish against undefeated two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder to claim double gold at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Catch their epic encounter on Instagram below:

Fans and athletes alike were equally stunned by the results as the comments and reactions continued to pour all over social media, including on Instagram and Twitter.

De Ridder was so dominant with an undefeated MMA record of 16-0, submitting opponents left and right that people believed he was invincible. Many predicted the fight to be a close one, but they were left with their jaws locked open when Malykhin flipped the script on de Ridder, punishing him with good combinations from the onset.

At the end of the night, ‘Sladkiy’ added another feather to his cap, taking home his second world title as well as his second double-bonus amounting to a whopping US$100,000.

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Fans on Twitter react to Brandon Vera’s retirement after ONE 164 double-header

‘The Truth’ Brandon Vera hung up the gloves after a TKO loss against Amir Aliakbari at ONE 164. The 45-year-old icon has produced some of the best knockouts in history over the course of his decades-long MMA career.

Fighting out of major MMA organizations in the world before taking his talents to ONE Championship, Vera paved the way for a new generation of Filipino athletes to follow in his footsteps.

The former ONE heavyweight world champion leaves the Circle having defended his world title twice before dropping it to Arjan Bhullar in 2021. He has 16 wins overall in his professional MMA career. Saturday marked Vera’s first and only three-fight losing streak in his illustrious career.

As being such a huge figure in the sport of MMA, Brandon Vera will be missed by many.

Fans took to Twitter to comment on his retirement with the following words:

“Mad respect for you champ. So many years of great memories. It was a pleasure and we wish you all the best in your retirement🤜🏻🤛🏾🤝🏼”

“Thanks for a legendary career! Champ 🇵🇭❤️🏆”