Brandon Vera Shares Enlightening Experience on ‘The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition’

“It was very educational and refreshing not to have any pressure on me in front of the camera. I got to learn a lot from the candidates. I look forward to seeing ‘The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition. It was an honor, an absolute privilege to be standing next to greatness both in the martial arts and business worlds. I think the physical challenges for the candidates were something very unexpected. They were definitely not prepared even though they thought they were. It was very cool seeing some of them push beyond their limits, while some just fell apart. It was a combination of being nervous, because I didn’t want to miss anything, and being nervous to discover some of my thought processes to be incorrect. It was definitely a learning curve all the time, and I’m very blessed to have this opportunity over and over with ONE Championship. [You need to be] someone who won’t break. Someone who knows how to take lead and set the example by doing. Someone who lives up to all of the values that ONE Championship stands for. That is what it will take to win ‘The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition.” ~Brandon “The Truth” Vera, Reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion

Brandon “The Truth” Vera, Reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion

ONE World Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera shares exciting moments he got from The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition. Vera is one of the world-class martial arts superstars who will guest on The Apprentice and test the candidates' mettle with physical and mental challenges.

Reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera is among a handful of martial arts superstars to guest on the upcoming reality television show, “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition.”

The 43-year-old Filipino-American mixed martial arts veteran joined legendary fighters Georges St-Pierre, Renzo Gracie, and former ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren, as well as high-profile CEOs from some of the world’s largest companies.

Vera, who is currently in Florida training alongside fellow athletes Aung La N Sang and Martin Nguyen at Sanford MMA, recalled his experience on ONE Championship’s version of the iconic TV franchise.

The show, based on the popular non-scripted television franchise, is a complete departure from the classic American version and offers viewers an entirely new experience.

“The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” invites 16 candidates hand-picked from around the world to participate in a series of business and physical challenges, as they compete for a US $250,000 job offer to work directly for ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong as his protege.

Vera, who was front and center to witness the candidates scrap and battle to reach the finale and ultimately win the competition, says viewers will be in awe of just how tough this version of “The Apprentice” truly was.

Apart from being one of the most dominant world champions in ONE Championship, Vera is also an entrepreneur himself, owning several businesses including the Asian branch of renowned gym Alliance MMA. He, in particular, learned a lot from his time on “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition.”

Vera described his experience working with guest CEOs such as Zoom’s Eric Yuan, Grab’s Anthony Tan, and Catcha Group’s Patrick Grove, among others.

“The Apprentice” is one of the biggest non-scripted reality television programs in history, judging the business skills of candidates who are competing for a job offer under a high-profile CEO. It has aired in more than 120 countries.

The first season of “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” consists of 13 episodes. It’s scheduled to premiere across Asia on Thursday, 18 March, on AXN, the show’s official Asian broadcast partner, followed by a global launch in June across broadcast and streaming platforms.

Having been witness to the candidates’ struggles, Vera learned exactly what it takes to be a contestant on the show, and has some advice for those wanting to join the show if it’s ordered for future seasons.

Vera is slated to make his return to the ONE Circle later this year to defend his ONE Heavyweight World Title, with a potential opponent being UFC veteran Arjan “Singh” Bhullar, although details of the bout have yet to be finalized or announced.

Filipino-American ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon "The Truth" Vera Excited with possibility of facing ‘Monster’ Buchecha in the ONE Circle

“So I had to look up the proper name, because I only know that monster as Buchecha. He is a phenomenal athlete. I am very lucky to have the opportunity to possibly meet him in the ONE Circle. And it’s not just him. ONE signed a plethora of amazingly talented heavyweights. I’m going to train right now! I am very familiar with his grappling accolades. He has beaten the best in the world and at any given moment, at any weight, he is one of the top two grapplers in the world against anyone. I am very excited he is making the transition to MMA. I think it is the correct progression after you win 13 World Titles in grappling. There is no one else for you to beat there. Looking forward to watching him and maybe even competing against him. It’s a very welcome challenge. My grappling and jiu-jitsu lineage is full of schools of hard knocks -- from Master Lloyd Irvin, to Dean Lister, to Andre Galvao, my catch-wrestling coach Neil Melanson, and everyone in between. I’m very confident in my jiu-jitsu capabilities. The level of competition has just increased exponentially. ONE Championship is making a very comfortable home for the big boys and giving me a lot of work to do. I’m looking forward to all of it.” ~Brandon “The Truth” Vera, Filipino-American ONE Heavyweight World Champion

Brandon “The Truth” Vera, Filipino-American ONE Heavyweight World Champion

Brandon Vera Excited With Possibility of Facing ‘Monster’ Buchecha in the ONE Circle. Filipino-American ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon "The Truth" Vera and his potential matchups in his division. 

Filipino-American ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera is spending much-needed quality time with his wife Jessica and newborn Atreyu Timothy in Guam amid the pandemic. But ONE Championship’s recent bolster of its heavyweight division has the reigning king enthusiastic about a handful of potential matchups.

One such matchup could possibly come against a recent signing. The promotion announced last week that it had added grappling legend Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida to its ranks. The Brazilian superstar is one of the most prolific Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitors in the world and is widely considered a demigod in the grappling circles.

After hearing the news of Almeida’s signing, Vera says he felt extra motivated to get the right to work. One look at Almeida’s grocery list of achievements on the mats can make anyone starstruck. The number of gold medals and world championship he's won is blinding. 

Almeida has 128 victories and only 13 losses in his grappling career, and now, he’s making the shift to the Circle which has fans from both the grappling and mixed martial arts worlds excited.

Vera knows exactly the type of ‘monster’ he could be up against should he meet Almeida in the Circle. “The Truth” is all praises for “Buchecha.”

Vera has held the ONE Heavyweight World Title since 2015 when he captured the inaugural belt with a knockout victory over Paul Cheng. Since then, Vera has defended the title successfully on two occasions, via first-round finishes over Hideki Sekine and Mauro Cerilli.

After a failed bid at light heavyweight against Aung La N Sang, Vera is excited to get back in the Circle and continue his reign of dominance in his natural weight class.

With the possibility of facing “Buchecha” down the line, Vera is confident his jiu-jitsu can hang with the world’s best, and that his overall skills will guide him through if he works hard enough.

Though nothing has been finalized as of the moment, the Filipino-American is expected to make his next title defense against India’s Arjan Bhullar, another worthy name in the mix. That bout could come later this year or in early 2021.

One thing is certain, ONE Championship’s heavyweight division is looking very deep right now, and Vera suddenly has a myriad of tough matchups he could possibly face in the Circle. At this stage in his career, Vera is rejuvenated. 

Like always, the 42-year-old veteran is up for the toughest challenges.