UFC bantamweight Marlon “Chito” Vera has been steadily rising through the UFC rankings. Currently, he sits at no.4 in the bantamweight rankings, and believes that a successful fight against a fellow top-ranked fighter – namely Cory Sandhagen – will give him the chance at UFC gold that has always been his goal. “Chito” discussed the prospect in a recent episode of Michael Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast.
Vera will face Sandhagen at the UFC Fight Night on February 18. “One thousand percent [it’s a big fight], and the guys that I have been beating are either former world champions or top-five guys. So probably for myself, I have a longer road, but it is what it is. It’s life. Some people have an easier road, a shorter road. I have a longer road. So at the end of the day, life is hard for everybody.
Vera Predicts UFC Title Shot With Sandhagen Win
But I really believe with a solid win on this guy, I’m fighting for the belt. Regardless of all this hype thing – who has more views, who has less views – it doesn’t f*cking matter. You go in there and put the lights out, the views come your way.”
“Chito” Vera has never been a particularly patient fighter, and has looked terrifying in his recent appearances. Vera is riding a four-fight winning streak, with recent victories over Rob Font and former two-time champion Dominick Cruz in his last two fights.
“If I’m healthy, why sit down? There’s a bag of money to go and grab, so why not? [I] keep advancing, and I’m beating legit guys. It’s not like they’re building my career and sh*t like that. The experience I have right now, you can’t buy that. You can only get it through walking the walk, and I’m getting calmer in there, I’m getting better in there.
So while all these guys act like a bunch of c*nts, I’m just going to keep getting better, and by the time I get there, it’s going to be night-night.”
The top shelf of the bantamweight division has stalled somewhat since Aljamain Sterling earned the belt via DQ from Petr Yan. Sterling won a rematch against Yan, and former champion T.J. Dillashaw returned from a two-year drug suspension to fast-track a title shot. Now, Sterling has no defense booked, but the most likely contender is surging bantamweight Sean O’Malley, who Marlon Vera has already faced, and defeated.
Do you think “Chito” Vera has what it takes to capture UFC gold? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zbq5nXuj1M
