"People are willing to die in there" - Marlon Vera on Rob Font surviving his power shots through five rounds
Marlon Vera has highlighted the incredible toughness and willpower displayed by most fighters inside the octagon, including that of his last opponent Rob Font. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Vera discussed his unanimous decision win over Font and lauded the American’s toughness.
Despite engaging in a back-and-forth fight, Vera showed negligible damage. The same could not be said for Font, who suffered injuries to his face in his defeat by unanimous decision.
Helwani asked Vera whether he was surprised to see Font go the five-round distance despite receiving tremendous punishment in their fight. Vera responded by stating:
“Because everybody is tough, you know. And at the top-five level, the dogs are like, pretty good, pretty tough, and pretty everything. I’m like, somebody should understand: People are willing to die in there. So, I get it, some people is like, ‘Oh, I’m willing to die here.’ I say that, and probably, I’m willing to do. I know I’m willing to go to hell in order to win. But it’s like, a good coach probably would throw the towel and stop it.”
CHITO! 🇪🇨
48-47
49-46
49-46
Marlon Vera scores a unanimous decision victory at #UFCVegas53 👏 https://t.co/OfUETP2Tka
'Chito' recalled hearing what was happening in his opponent's corner heading into round five. Given the considerable amount of damage Font had sustained by that point, the referee asked the American whether he wanted to continue.
Font answered yes and went the distance. Nevertheless, 'Chito' opined that Font would obviously answer in the affirmative when asked if he wanted to keep fighting. Referencing his opponent's facial injuries, Vera indicated that Font’s corner should’ve stopped the contest to protect their fighter from taking more unnecessary damage.
Watch Marlon Vera’s conversation with Ariel Helwani in the video below:
Marlon Vera explains how moving to the United States helped his combat sports career
Heading into his fight against Rob Font, Marlon Vera spoke to Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole and harked back to his challenges as an up-and-coming fighter. ‘Chito’ revealed that the lack of MMA-specific training facilities and guidance in his native Ecuador made it tough for him to progress.
'Chito' emphasized that moving to America has helped vastly improve his MMA skill-set. Vera, who currently trains at the RVCA gym in California, explained:
“To make it is so hard because when I started, there was no road. There was no guide. There was no like, this way you should go.” Vera added, “I was just trying to figure it out. And once I moved to the U.S., I was like, ‘Wow! Okay. This is how training feels. This is real.’”
Watch the interview with Marlon Vera below: