Marlon Vera has his eyes on the bantamweight title, but he’s willing to take a detour if that’s what the UFC wants.
In April, Vera won a unanimous decision over Rob Font, battering him for 25 minutes in the main event of UFC Vegas 53. Vera won his third consecutive win and climbed up the UFC rankings to the number five spot. With a victory over Petr Yan, “Chito”, who is now on the brink of contention, hopes to get his shot at a title shot.
“We’re right there,” Vera told The Schmo. “We’re literally one win away from fighting for that belt, so I hope we get it done with Yan. I think that’s the path to the belt, number one contender. We kick his ass, and we move forward.”
Most recently, Yan came up short his rematch with Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title, losing a split decision at UFC 273. In need of a new opponent and path back to the title though, Yan gave Chito props and suggested that one day they would fight, following Vera’s excellent performance against Font. With Vera having unsuccessfully pursued bouts against Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo, having the top-ranked fighter in the division show interest in a fight makes focusing on that bout an easy choice for Chito.
“Dominick is an old story for me,” Vera said. “He don’t want to do it, he don’t want the smoke, well, we move forward. It’s what he wants, and he gets it. Yan stops me, and I get the title shot.”
Timing is a potential stumbling block for such an event. Vera attacked Yan over social media. She claimed he wanted to fight August. Vera was furious and told by “No Mercy”, he could either wait for the fall or fight another person.
@PetrYanUFC bitch out august 13th
— C H T O V E R A (@chitoveraUFC) May 26, 2022
If you want to fight the best you can wait till September/October, but if you want to just to be ufc’s bitch and fill out the spot in August you can fuck off and don’t waste my time https://t.co/ynfPyE5lhD
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) May 26, 2022
If Vera does want to fight someone else, there is another possible opponent that always comes up when discussing Chito: Sean O’Malley. Vera and O’Malley fought at UFC 252, with Vera winning by first-round KO. O’Mallay denied the defeat, saying Vera’s victory was invalid because he sustained an injury to his leg which led to the end. Since then, there has been a possibility of a rematch. O’Malley is currently scheduled to face Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 and if he wins, “Suga” will jump into the UFC top-10. And if that happens, and the UFC wants to run it back between the two men, Vera says he’s game to settle old business as well.
“He’s got a fight, and I haven’t had a chance to fight him yet. But if they do, I will kick his arse again and put him out in the same manner,” Vera stated. He can talk, but I will keep winning .”
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TOP STORIES
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Why? Fabricio Werdum not retired from MMA, but ‘will focus 100 percent on boxing’ going forward.
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VIDEO STEW
The MMA Hour.
Francis Ngannou’s recovery.
Kamaru Usman on Men’s Health.
Aljamain Sterling gets a day named after him.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Kevin Holland video.
Here it was. The aftermath. pic.twitter.com/LDAeHVAZfG
— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top) May 25, 2022
Cejudo is still teasing a return.
You know what is funny? The fact that the father with the dad body is getting ready to empty the garbage on his return. Stay tuned pic.twitter.com/ewqZwrFI5t
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) May 25, 2022
Booking.
It’s official yes I will be fighting Thiago Santos, August 6th in another Main event headliner!!! Sweet Dreams Nation: You all know the time! #demontime #mainevent #MEMal #ufc #fightnight #august6th #domination #classinsession #touchemupuniversity #fyp #fypshi #foryou pic.twitter.com/IWqpghvPH7
— Jamahal Hill (@JamahalH) May 25, 2022
Recovery.
14 days after surgery and today we got back on the bike ! Baby step for some but a huge step for me in getting back to normal Thanks to the staff @UFCPI I will be back before you know it… pic.twitter.com/DSm7ojvVxN
— Casey Oneill (@kingcaseymma) May 25, 2022
Congratulations.
A special congrats to former @HofstraWREST and #Hofstra Football student-athlete @GPVillante on earning his degree. Gian has been an incredible representative of @HofstraU throughout his career with the @ufc and now as he moves on to the next phase! #RoarWithPride#HofGrad pic.twitter.com/8SXx5FkQne
— Hofstra Pride Athletics (@HofstraPride) May 25, 2022
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
N/A.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Thank you for reading! See y’all tomorrow.
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