Marlon “Chito” Vera is only focused on what he can control ahead of his third consecutive Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) main event appearance.
UFC San Antonio goes down this weekend (Sat., March 25, 2023) and showcases the always-exciting Bantamweight division. Vera aims to extend his four-fight winning streak in the evening’s headliner by turning back Cory Sandhagen.
Currently ranked at No. 3 in the promotion’s divisional rankings, a title shot would seem logical after a Vera win. However, the Ecuador native has no expectations after seeing how things have unfolded at 135 pounds in recent months.
“The way that the rankings are done, it’s really hard to predict,” Vera said at UFC San Antonio media day. “You have [Sean] O’Malley at No. 1 after he beat [Petr] Yan. Now you have Merab [Dvalishvili] No. 1 after beating Yan. So, Yan wasn’t No. 1 his last fight and you beat the guy, you go to No. 1. It really doesn’t f—king matter. You can be No. 10 and fight for the title. It’s whatever the f—k the UFC wants to do at this point.
“I’m okay with that because I’m putting in work, I’m winning the way they want wins,” he continued. “Then the fans are cheering for me. There’s a reason I’m fighting in an arena. There’s a reason I’m fighting three main events in a row. I’m gonna just keep making money, and eventually, the belt will come to me. The harder you chase things, they might go away from you. I’m just going with the flow. I know I’m working hard, so I’m not worried about anything.”
Vera entered UFC in Nov. 2014, dropping a unanimous decision to Marco Beltran. Nearly 10 years later, “Chito” has evolved into one of the sport’s consummate finishers and most exciting deliverers of violence. If Vera can finish Sandhagen, he’ll become only the second man in “Sandman’s” 19-fight career to achieve such a feat (the first being the current champion, Aljamain Sterling).
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC San Antonio fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+) at 7 p.m. ET.
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