Filipino-American MMA fighter Brandon Vera will be defending his ONE heavyweight title against rising heavyweight star Arjan "Singh" Bhullar this May 15 in Singapore.

At age 43, having to fight younger and bigger fighters might become more challenging, but Vera, who remains undefeated in ONE as a heavyweight, said he is still waiting for signs that would point him towards retirement.

"I always refer to my elders, those who retired before me. I always ask them when did you know you're gonna retire?" said the "Truth" in Nolie Eala's Power & Play.

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"Their answers [are] always the same: One day you'll wake up. You're not gonna want to be sore anymore, don't want anybody gonna punch you, don't want to be kicked in the leg anymore."

But Vera said that exactly the way he feels since he began training for MMA.

"So when I'm gonna know? All they say, 'Brandon you'll know when you know.' Ngayon, hindi pa."

In the meantime, he busies himself preparing for Bhullar, a fighter he labelled as a very tough challenge.

"Arjan will give me a hard time with his boxing, head movement and his wrestling. Those are the three biggest key scoring components for him. And I will have to turn off all three of them," said Vera.

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What makes the fight more interesting is the length of preparations they went through before the bout.

They were supposed to meet in May of last year in Manila, but their bout was temporarily shelved because of the pandemic.

Their fight is now set for the main event of ONE: Dangal, a tape delayed event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore that airs on May 15.

"We're both training for each other for a long time now, I'm very excited for this match up and I'm glad it's finally happening," said Vera.

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