As if the weekend wasn’t frustrating enough with his loss at UFC 299, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera had to deal with some “f*cking a**hole” who broke into his house on top of it.
Vera returned to the Octagon on Saturday (March 9) for his first bantamweight title opportunity, challenging reigning and defending champion Sean O’Malley. After five rounds of entertaining action, ‘Sugar’ was declared the winner decisively, outstriking ‘Chito’ by a margin of 232 to 89.
Adding insult to injury, ‘Chito’ recently revealed that his home was broken into ahead of his UFC 299 title tilt.
“The context is last night there was a robbery,” Vera wrote on Instagram. They broke into our house. Though they are material things, they are things that have been bought with a lot of effort and hard work. But hey, these types of things happen and the truth is tonight will be a good one. Tonight the gold belt (as Eli calls it) will be ours. God with us and to the person who did it. I really hope he needed the money for something important. Much love.”
Who’s next for Marlon ‘chito’ vera following UFC 299
After coming up short against O’Malley, ‘Chito’ will go back to the drawing board as he hopes to secure a trilogy fight with the current 135-pound champ down the line. Fortunately, there are plenty of options for the Ecuadorian at the top of the bantamweight division.
Climbing back into the win column at UFC 299 was former titleholder Petr Yan who delivered a stellar performance against rising contender Song Yadong in the evening’s main card opener. Following the events of Saturday night, ‘No Mercy’ expressed interest in a fight with Vera which could ultimately lead him toward his own rematch with Sean O’Malley.
There’s also former Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo who reneged on his promise to retire should he fail to secure a win over the bantamweight division’s top-ranked contender, Merab Dvalishvili, last month at UFC 298.
And don’t forget about former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo who makes his sophomore appearance 135 on April 13 at UFC 300. ‘Deus da Guerra’ will face the No. 3 ranked Cody Garbrandt with the winner putting themself in a very good position near the top of one of MMA’s most stacked divisions. The loser, however, could be the perfect bounce-back opportunity for the opportunistic Vera.
Who would you like to see Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera fight when he returns to the Octagon later this year?