BREAKING: Marlon Vera reportedly booked against ex-UFC champion at UFC Abu Dhabi, 'Chito' shares first reaction
After failing in his bid to capture the bantamweight title against Sean O'Malley at UFC 299, Marlon Vera is now eyeing redemption against a former undisputed champion.
The UFC is seemingly looking to pit 'Chito' against former flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo at the upcoming UFC Abu Dhabi card on Aug. 3.
Per a report from MMA Fighting, verbal agreements are in place for the fight, and considering 'Chito's' reaction to the news, the matchup is seemingly close to being finalized. In a series of X posts reacting to the news, Vera wrote:
"Eager to win."
He added:
"'Chito' 2.0."
Catch Marlon Vera's reactions below:
Vera is the No.4-ranked bantamweight contender, while 'Dues da Guerra' currently holds the No.6 spot in the division. Both fighters are 3-2 in their last five outings. Notably, Figueiredo is undefeated since moving up to bantamweight in December.
The match-up will surely be a treat for the fans since both fighters possess a well-rounded game and are a threat regardless of where the fight might end up. Figueiredo has nine knockouts and submission wins each, while 'Chito' has eight knockouts and 10 submission wins to his name.
Another bantamweight bout is set to headline the card, featuring Cory Sandhagen against Umar Nurmagomedov.
Marlon Vera believes getting a trilogy fight against Sean O'Malley is "easy"
Despite losing his rematch with Sean O'Malley via a unanimous decision, Marlon Vera is confident of eventually getting a third crack at 'Sugar'. 'Chito' is currently 1-1 against the bantamweight champion and feels a third fight between the pair would be very lucrative for the UFC.
In his appearance on a recent episode of JAXXON Podcast, the Ecuadorian mixed martial artist explained his reasoning:
"[For the rematch to happen] he has to win his next fight and I definitely have to win my next fight. I think if we both win, it's pretty easy to make it because he and Aljamain [Sterling] sold sh*t. Me and him sold numbers [which were] very good. He and Merab [Dvalishvili] are going to sell a lot of sh*t again. So, it's a numbers game. I definitely brought the numbers and that's all I can do."
Catch Marlon Vera's comments below (25:05):