Marlon Vera in no rush to fight for a title but believes he will one day be a world champion

Marlon Vera is currently on a four-fight win streak comprising just as many post-fight bonuses. The No.4-ranked bantamweight, who is set to take on Cory Sandhagen next month, recently shared that he is not guaranteed a title fight with a win in his next bout. Nevertheless, he is in no hurry to claim UFC gold.

🚨 BANGER ALERT 🚨

@ChitoVeraUFC and @CorySandhagen will be taking center stage Saturday, Feb. 18th! https://t.co/aFiJ56FUrq

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Vera broke down the title picture atop the 135-pound weight class. The Ecuadorian forsees Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo fighting for the belt in March, with the winner expected to take on Sean O'Malley in the summer.

Vera sees himself fighting for the belt before the end of the year and is targeting the UFC's annual trip to Madison Square Garden in November for his title fight. 'Chito' told Ariel Helwani:

"Aljo's fighting Cejudo sometime in March. I beat Sandhagen in February. They make the winner of that versus O'Malley in June, July. I'm fighting for the belt in November [at] MSG. That's sexy."

Vera added:

"Even if I go in there, epic performance, lights out, I won the fight, and I don't get a title shot, I get money. I get money so it's all good... I really believe deep down in my heart, I'm gonna be a world champ. I'm gonna hold the UFC belt one day. I'm in a rush? No, dude, I'm f**king 30 years old. I just turned 30. I got my best years ahead of me. Just keep doing what got you here, which is consistency and work."

Catch Marlon Vera's comments below (2:54:50):

Sean O'Malley reveals that he wants Marlon Vera to defeat Cory Sandhagen

Sean O'Malley is seemingly set to face the winner of the rumored bantamweight title bout between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo. The No.1-ranked bantamweight recently shared that he is hoping Marlon Vera defeats Cory Sandhagen so he can run it back 'Chito' for the title down the line.

It should come as no surprise that O'Malley would like to rematch Vera as his only career loss came at the hands of the Ecuadorian via TKO at UFC 252 in 2020. The bout ended in anticlimatic fashion as 'Sugar' sustained a rare peroneal nerve injury in the very first round, which brought about the fight-ending sequence.

O'Malley has never publicly accepted the fight against Vera as a loss. Speaking on his podcast, TimboSugarShow, the rising bantamweight star opened up about how he would like the 135-pound title mix to play out:

"I want 'Chito' [Marlon Vera] to win, obviously, because then if [Sterling moving up] is the case, me versus 'Chito' for the belt is massive or I go out there and beat whoever that is and then first title defense is against 'Chito'."

Catch Sean O'Malley's comments below (11:23):