By Ivan Saldajeno
PASAY--For Brandon Vera, the death of Chinese MMA fighter Yang Jian Bing opened the eyes of the world to how tough the sport actually is.
"Itong trabaho na ito, hindi talaga game ito," Vera, who can speak fluently in Filipino, told the press after he became the first One Championship heavyweight titlist after knocking out Paul Cheng at Spirit of Champions at the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday night.
"We break bones. We have surgeries for you. We put metal in our bodies to repair ourselves.... We give you our lives. We give you our soul," Vera further revealed what fighters undergo in their matches.
He expressed sadness upon learning of Yang's death due to dehydration and said his condolences to his family for the unfortunate event.
Vera condoled, "Unfortunately, one of our brothers has passed. For his family, his coaches, and his team, I'm sorry."
He also said that he was blessed to have met him during their respective training camps.
"I hope that [a death similar to Yang's] never happens again," Vera concluded.
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