Marlon Vera is not one to make excuses following his defeats.
Vera is coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Jose Aldo in their bantamweight clash at UFC Vegas 17 last month. Despite having his moments, he was largely outclassed by the former featherweight champion.
And for that, Vera blames nobody but himself.
“I believe, when you lose, there are a million things you can make up. You can make up a million excuses,” Vera told MMA Junkie. “I tried just to see the realistic (reasons) why I (lost) or what I could’ve done better. I believe coming into the third round, I was too excited. I was so sure I was about to finish him in a really spectacular way that I came in too heavy.
“… It’s my fault. There is no coach to blame. There are no teammates to blame. … I don’t want to erase this memory because that’s what’s going to get me through the next things. I’m going to use that chip on my shoulder to not overcommit or get too excited. I went for the kill and got stuck in a weird position. (Expletive) happens.”
Of course, one fighter who took pleasure in seeing Vera lose was Sean O’Malley.
O’Malley suffered his first professional defeat to Vera after a first-round TKO defeat in their UFC 252 co-headliner in August. However, “Sugar” — whose foot was injured during the bout — has since maintained that he’s still undefeated and has taken various shots at Vera who he believes won by a fluke.
12-0. Chito sucks.
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) December 20, 2020
O’Malley would also later claim he had no interest in a rematch with Vera either unless he went on a winning streak.
Vera, however, isn’t too bothered by O’Malley. And if he does end up facing him again, he believes it’ll just be a repeat of the first meeting.
“Everybody’s always got something to say,” Vera added. “What can we do about it? There’s nothing you can do about it. I won’t lose time arguing with a (expletive)(expletive). What I can do for sure is kick his ass – again. I’m not looking to fight nobody. I’m just looking to fight whoever the (expletive) UFC puts in front of me.”
Would you like to see Vera fight O’Malley again?