What’s Next For Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera After UFC San Diego

Marlon “Chito” Vera put on one hell of a show when he faced off against Dominic Cruz in the UFC Octagon at UFC San Diego over the former champion with a vicious Knockout of the former Bantamweight champion. Vera has many options at 135 in our opinion. In this piece we’re going over the matchups that make sense for the rising Bantamweight. It all depends on who wins matchups at the top of the division in coming months.

The first fight I think that makes sense for Vera is the winner of the matchup between Petr Yan & Sean O’Malley. Yan is a striking master with a background in Boxing and Muay Thai the former Champion has been training hard since his title bout that he lost against current champ Aljamain Sterling. The Yan O’Malley matchup doesn’t really make sense but a matchup between Vera and Yan would definitely make more sense. As would a rematch between Vera and O’Malley the pair definitely have unfinished business.

Jose Aldo faces off against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278. I think the winner of that matchup would also make sense for Vera. Aldo is one of the best fighters in the lower weight classes in UFC history with 7 title defenses of his 145 pound belt. Vera could be an interesting matchup for Aldo because they both can Grapple, but both have striking games so it’d be interesting to see where the fight would end up. Dvalishvili is a black belt in Judo, but the majority of his wins come from the Judges so it would be cool to see Vera try to Submit or Knockout the Georgian.

One matchup I really like for vera is Cory Sandhagen. Sandhagen has an impressive 14-4 I think Sandhagens striking and grappling would be put to the test with Vera. as Chito can go toe to toe and I think the grappling exchanges would go in Vera’s direction I want to see this matchup. But it all depends on Sandhagen’s next performance when he faces off against Song Yadong who is a really tough matchup for the 135er but I think Vera vs Sandhagen is really the fight to make if the matchups above don’t work out.

I’m super excited to see who Vera takes on next as he is definitely on his way to a title fight.

What’s Next For Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera?

Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera and Massachusetts native Rob Font Gave UFC fans an amazing performance on Saturday when they faced off against each other in the UFC Octagon. We think that there are some clear fights that make sense for Vera. One fight I think makes a lot of Sense is a bout with Cory Sandhagen. Another matchup that makes sense for Chito is with Russian Striking ace Petr Yan would also make sense as Yan. A matchup I think the fans would love to see would be a rematch between Vera and Jose Aldo. The Bantamweight Division is full of interesting matchups.

Sandhagen Is coming off a loss to Petr Yan for the interim UFC Bantamweight Championship at UFC 267 which won him Fight of the Night honors. Sandhagen is a striker but also holds a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I think this matchup makes sense for Chito as he’d be able to bring it to the ground and hopefully get a submission as he is a grappler and 8 of his 19 mins have come from his submission game.

Petr Yan is a very good matchup for Vera. Yan looked very uncomfortable on the ground in his rematch Championship bout against current Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling. Chito holds the advantage in the grappling department, but on the feet Yan could make things interesting, all MMA fights start on the feet. Seven of Yans victories come by way of Knockout making this one of those striker vs. grappler matchups that the UFC loves to make, it’s one of the most entertaining fights I think makes sense.

Two fights that I think fans would like to see, and matchups that Vera has called for. One is a rematch with former Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. The other is with former Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. Aldo is an interesting matchup for Vera as they both have already met in the Octagon so they know each other well. Both have amazing submission skills so this may actually stay on the feet. The matchup with Dominick Cruz actually makes more sense for Vera in my opinion, Vera has a huge advantage on the ground with years of grappling experience.

It’ll be interesting to see what is next for Vera. We think he is climbing his way to the top of this stacked division.

Fighter Profile: Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera

UFC 268 results: Marlon 'Chito' Vera crushes Frankie Edgar with brutal front kick knockout - MMA Fighting — Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera is a fascinating Fighter. From his first fight in a rusty cage in the back of a mechanic’s shop to fighting in the UFC he’s made a name for himself as an amazing submission specialist, but he also has knockout power finishing seven of his 18 wins by Knockout. Vera is sweet to watch and every time he fights it is must see TV. He has climbed into the top ten of one of the most talented divisions in the sport.

Vera was born on December 2, 1992 in Chone, Ecuador. Vera is the youngest of three children. Vera would often get into fights even at the young age of five and his siblings “taught” him how to fight, but it wasn’t until he was older that he really saw his potential, by stepping into a Jiu Jitsu gym. From that point on Vera never stopped training martial arts. And due to excelling in the gentle art Vera decided to fight MMA. He tricked his mother into signing consent for the fight because he was underage, telling her it was for a Jiu Jitsu tournament. From that point on Vera had one goal and that was going to the UFC.

Vera made his MMA debut against Cesar Moreno for the EMMA 2 – Extreme FC: Conflicto promotion in June of 2011. He secured the victory by Unanimous Decision. He then faced Jack Guzman and won via Submission (Triangle Choke) in February 2012. Vera then took on Javier Umana Munoz and again secured the victory via Submission (Triangle Choke.) He then would face Joel Iglesias and would earn himself a knockout victory. He’d fight four more times before getting called by the UFC, to fight on ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America’ he got sent to Jacksonwink to train for the show and won on the show’s quarterfinals via knockout, but had to leave the competition due to a skin infection.

Vera made his UFC debut against fellow Ultimate Fighter castmate Marco Beltrán in November of 2014 at UFC 180. Vera would then fight Roman Salazar and would win via Submission (Triangle Choke.) He’d then face Davey Grant and lose via Unanimous Decision. He’d then string a three fight win streak together beating Ning Guangyou, Brad Pickett, and Brian Kelleher. He’d lose his next two fights, but would go on to win his next five bouts. He’d then face Song Yadong at Featherweight, unfortunately Vera would not secure the victory. He’d then beat Sean O’Malley by TKO (elbows and punches.) He’d then face former Featherweight King José Aldo he would lose by decision, but Vera would not be deterred as he’d secure victories over Davey Grant and former Lightweight Champion, Frankie Edgar.

Vera has beaten a lot of great fighters and finds himself in the top 10 in the Bantamweight Division, one of the most talented divisions in the promotion.