Brandon Vera on forever cherishable experience from 'The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition'

Bengaluru, February 7: Inaugural ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera will forever cherish his experience in "The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition."

The Filipino-American "The Truth" Vera has nothing but praise from the show's production to the 16 exceptional candidates chosen by ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

"[The filming of the show] was for sure something out of a fairytale. You get to fly into Singapore, go on the set of one of the highest-rated shows ever created, with Chatri as the boss, with all these excellent candidates. Man, it was indescribable," Vera said.

"I was very impressed with how the whole thing was run. From when we landed to when we were on set, to our call times to the shots, they ran it just like Chatri would run a business."

The 44-year-old behemoth is just one of the mixed martial arts legends who graced the award-winning program. Also making appearances are Rich Franklin, Renzo Gracie, and Georges St-Pierre.

But of all the challenges Vera participated in, the dragon boat race separates itself from every other experience.

In that physical task, he led Team Valor against Team Conquest, who had Karate World Champion "Super" Sage Northcutt.

At first, the Alliance Training Center mainstay took it easy upon his teammates. However, the toughest version of "The Apprentice" to date brought out his competitive nature by calling out a contestant that stopped paddling.

"Me and Sage were like little kids playing. We didn't have a competitive bone against each other at all. It was just fun to be out there. But as soon as we get into the boat, I have a squad that I'm responsible for," the heavyweight with a 100-percent finish rate at ONE shared. 

"I was yelling and trying to rally them as best as I could. Because I'm part of the team, we're all in the boat together. So, win, lose, fall out or sink, we're in there together. I'm glad I got to share that intensity with them."

He eventually buried the hatchet with that contestant. Moving forward, he has nothing but great memories, especially the bond he formed from his dragon boat teammates and his MMA colleagues alike.

Former pro footballer upholds Indian pride on The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition

"I had so many good memories. I'll share a couple with you and then tell my favorites. Dinners with Chatri, dinner with Ben Askren, dinner with Sage [Northcutt]. Learning a lot from different people," Vera revealed. 

"Hanging out with the crew, everyone was so, so perfect. It couldn't have gone better. But my favorite moment was when we got out of the dragon boat, and the whole team hugged it out. I absolutely appreciated that. It was really cool."

Catch all 13 episodes of "The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition" on-demand on Netflix. 

ONE Championship also returns to action with ONE: BAD BLOOD on February 11. Watch the event live beginning with the lead card at 3:30 PM IST, followed by the main card at 6 PM IST on Disney+ Hotstar.

Source: Media Release