ONE Championship: Kang Ji-won calls out Brandon Vera after heavyweight title shot snub
- ‘Mighty Warrior’ looks to move forward and take out former champ Vera after being passed over in favour of Anatoly Malykhin
- ‘Arjan Bhullar called me out … I think that’s reason enough for me to get a title shot,’ says South Korean
After seeing his ONE Championship heavyweight title shot slip away, Kang Ji-won is eyeing up the next best thing – taking out the former king, Brandon Vera.
Kang (5-0) made it back-to-back wins in ONE with a statement knockout of Iranian debutant Amir Aliakbari on March’s Fists of Fury II card in Singapore, but suffered a torn retina in the process.
The 26-year-old South Korean has sat idle since, undergoing multiple surgeries and focusing on rehabilitation, but is now fully recovered and back training as he waits for an opportunity.
Sadly for “The Mighty Warrior”, Anatoly Malykhin (10-0) also knocked out Aliakbari last month in a heavyweight title eliminator, and will get the first crack at Arjan Bhullar (11-1). Kang considers the Russian a friend, but was somewhat perplexed at being passed over by the promotion.
“As soon as [Bhullar] became champion, right there in that Circle in the post-fight interview, he called me out,” Kang told the Post. “I didn’t call him out, he called me out. So I think that’s enough reason for me to get a title shot.
“Champions usually don’t call out challengers. It’s actually [the] opposite way, because challengers want that opportunity.”
