"It taught me so much in the long run" - Marlon Vera recalls losing to Jose Aldo at UFC Vegas 17, calls it the "best loss" of his career
Marlon Vera is on the cusp of becoming a UFC world champion. Ahead of his first crack at UFC gold, 'Chito' revisited one of the most notable defeats of his MMA career, his loss against Jose Aldo.
At UFC Vegas 17 in December 2020, Vera faced MMA icon and former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. The Brazilian MMA stalwart beat him via unanimous decision.
Vera bounced back by winning five of his six ensuing octagon appearances. His lone defeat during that stretch came via split decision against Cory Sandhagen.
Speaking to Kevin Iole, 'Chito' has now harked back to the Aldo loss. The Ecuadorian fighter asserted that the defeat hurt him considerably. Vera suggested that he was gauging Aldo's speed and body shots in round one and got outpointed in that round.
Vera added that he definitely won round two, leaving Aldo tired and overwhelmed. The striking savant believes he got overconfident entering the third and final round, erred by rushing around the octagon, threw an unnecessary haymaker, and was outworked.
Regardless, highlighting that he learned from that matchup and has evolved, 'Chito' noted that he's not a hater and was glad to have been taught that lesson by the legendary Aldo. Vera stated:
“Losing like that really hurt... I went to a dark place. I was hard on myself. It was depressing… That was 1,001 percent on me. I made the biggest mistake of my life, but it was also the best mistake of my life because it taught me so much in the long run."
He added:
“That’s why you saw my career the way it turned because I was like, you have to be cautious of everything at all times. It just taught me so many things. That loss, I would say it could be the best loss of my career."
Catch Marlon Vera's comments below:
Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon Vera: 'Chito' looks to dethrone 'Sugar' at UFC 299
Marlon Vera is the first, and thus far only, fighter who's defeated UFC superstar 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley in the sport of MMA. During their clash at UFC 252 in August 2020, O'Malley suffered a leg injury. 'Chito' swiftly capitalized and stopped him via first-round TKO. Their first encounter was a non-title matchup, as neither athlete possessed a world title at the time.
Nevertheless, going into their highly-anticipated rematch, O'Malley is the UFC champion. Vera is scheduled to fight the reigning UFC bantamweight champion at UFC 299 on March 9, 2024.
For his part, Vera is 5-1 in his past six matchups and is fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292 in August 2023. O'Malley has amassed five wins and 1 NC (No Contest) in his last six fights. 'Sugar' is coming off a title-winning performance at UFC 292, having bested Aljamain Sterling by second-round TKO.