MANILA — A former nemesis has offered his hand of friendship to Ukraine’s Igor Subora.

Reigning ONE heavyweight champion Brandon Vera has personally extended his training services to Subora as he prepares for his light-heavyweight debut against Sherif “The Shark” Mohamed on the undercard of ONE: Quest for Power in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday.

“At that time, (Vera) was preparing for his title defense. Meanwhile, I was cross-training for my upcoming bout. He reached out, which I saw as a great opportunity,” said Subora.

Vera and Subora clashed for the inaugural ONE heavyweight championship more than two years ago at Mall of Asia Arena.

The “Truth” came out on top of Subora, finishing his Ukrainian rival with a thunderous high kick and follow-up ground strikes in the first round.

Now friends with Vera, the Manila-based Subora is grateful for the help he has received from the reigning ONE heavyweight champion.

“Brandon is a nice guy. I wish that we could train more often together. We are now friends, not foes. I guess that’s the good thing about mixed martial arts. You might be foes inside the cage. But after the fight and outside the cage, it’s different,” he said.

Besides Vera, Subora also worked with fellow ONE Championship competitor Mark Striegl, as well as the Filipino champion’s close friend and teammate AJ Matthews.

The 36-year-old Subora is confident going into his three-round showdown against Mohamed as training with the trio of Vera, Striegl and Matthews has helped Subora add more weapons to his arsenal.

“Training with them helped me a lot. They taught me a lot. Now, I am excited to get back in the cage and showcase my newly acquired skills. The world will see the new Igor Subora,” he said.

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