MMA Champ Brandon Vera Met With The Rock to Talk About Fighting in New ‘Fast and Furious’ Film

When two supreme athletes collide, however, naturally, the conversation diverged into other topics such as fitness recovery, true-to-life fight choreography, and Vera’s upcoming mixed martial arts bout.

 

Spending their lives entrenched in constant training, both “The Truth” and “The Rock” share many similarities, so it wasn’t surprising to hear them connecting on a more personal level.

Vera began his professional mixed martial arts career in 2002, bringing with him unparalleled tenacity coupled with immense skill. As a result, he won his first eight bouts and took the world by storm. Today, he is a combat sports veteran and the reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion competing under the Asia-based martial arts organization, ONE Championship.

Johnson, on the other hand, was once a promising High School football prospect who earned a full scholarship to the University of Miami where he played defensive tackle. He was on the 1991 Miami Hurricanes national championship team. After football, however, Johnson was led down a different path and soon found himself engulfed in the world of professional wrestling.

Johnson made his WWE debut in 1996 and not long after, rose to superstardom with his “The Rock” persona, which he has kept to this day.

These two heavyweights share an unspoken bond between two supremely-conditioned athletes.

Vera, a huge fan of the Fast and Furious franchise, was given a special screening of the movie ahead of everyone else. Noticing a sharp improvement in action scenes, particularly in fight sequences, Vera asked Johnson what was different about how it was all put together.

“Well, first of all, it means a lot coming from you. Thank you. When you can break down the action like that because you know fighting so well because you’re such a bad*** yourself. It’s true, man, thank you,” Johnson told Vera before giving co-stars Jason Statham and Idris Elba props.

As athletes, both Vera and Johnson understand just what it takes physically and mentally to remain in shape and be prepared to do what they do best. The two agreed that it was passion, and love for what they do that brings out the best in them.

At age 47, Johnson looks absolutely ripped and fitter than most humans on Earth. His health and fitness regimen is second to none. At 41, Vera is the best he’s ever been in mixed martial arts competitions.

And while Johnson will no doubt spend the next month promoting his movie, Vera is preparing for his upcoming bout which takes place on October 13th in Tokyo, Japan, where he attempts to wrest the ONE Light Heavyweight World Title from Myanmar hero “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang.

Although it was Vera who was supposed to interview Johnson about his movie, “The Rock”, himself a huge mixed martial arts fan, couldn’t help but curb his curiosity about where Vera was at in his career now.

Johnson appeared genuinely interested in Vera’s current conditioning, and the high-stakes surrounding his next appearance in the cage.

To close the conversation, Vera took the time to invite Johnson to Asia to come and see the best athletes in the world perform at ONE Championship, the next time he’s in the vicinity. Will The Rock take The Truth up on his offer?

Featured images via YouTube/ONE Championship