Chito Vera Calls Out Former UFC Champ for ‘No Brainer’ Title Eliminator Fight
Vera believes he's one big win away from fighting for gold again.
Marlon 'Chito' Vera wants to keep himself in the title picture at 135lbs.
Fighting in the Octagon for the last decade, the 31 year-old contender finally got his shot at gold in a rematch against UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O'Malley. The two rivals collided in the UFC 299 headliner in March with O'Malley walking away with the title in a shutout decision victory.
RELATED: UFC 299 Aftermath: Chito Vera Accuses Sean O’Malley of Cheating, Rivalry Re-Ignites
Following the lopsided result in Miami, Vera and O'Malley are now 1-1 in their series with "Chito" taking their first outing where he won by TKO in 2020. But, that's all in the past. Looking on to the future, Vera's sights are still very much on becoming Ecuador's first-ever UFC Champion.
Vera believes he knows just the bantamweight to get him straight back into title contention.
"In a perfect world, I want to fight November [at] Madison Square Garden and I would like to fight Petr Yan," Vera told Cameron Hanes. "So, I think that's a no brainer for the fans, for the UFC. And right there you have a former champ against a title challenger. The winner can sit right there waiting for the title shot. It's a fight that we will fight our asses off because this is a big one. There's a lot of stake."
1-2 in his last three fights, a title shot may be out of the question for Vera, even with a win over a former champion like Yan. The UFC's bantamweight division is stacked to the brim with Merab Dvalishvili, Cory Sandhagen and rising undefeated contenders crawling to the top like Umar Nurmagomedov.
Petr Yan, ranked #3 in the world, is also in the conversation after returning to the win column with a decision effort over Song Ya Dong at UFC 299. Following his fight, "No Mercy" expressed some interest in facing a fellow top contender like the #4-ranked Vera.
“I’m interested in Marlon Vera, guys who are in the top 5. I’m only interested in fighters who are in the rankings where I am," Yan told Gorilla Fighting.
While they have yet to formally fight, there is history between Vera and Yan. Vera has long accused the Russian of refusing to fight him on multiple occasions, most notably at a UFC Fight Night headliner in August 2022.
"He declined before," Vera explained. "Because we met, we saw each other at my last fight, 'cause he fought too and he's like, 'Hey, I want you next'. And I say, 'what you talking about? You declined twice? Don't be acting tough right now'. He's like, 'No, it wasn't good time for me...' Well, then shut the f***up. F*** off.
"When I fought [Dominick] Cruz, the original fight was me and Yan in Boston. Because he declined, they called Cruz and they make it in San Diego so it can be bigger for both of us. I say yes to both guys."
Is Chito Vera vs. Petr Yan the next fight to make at bantamweight?
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