Marlon Vera is determined to keep himself in the 135-pound title picture — and he plans to use Petr Yan to do it.
‘Chito’ is coming off a lopsided unanimous decision defeat at the hands of reigning UFC bantamweight world champion Sean O’Malley at UFC 299 in March. That same night, Yan fought his way back into the win column with a solid performance against rising star Song Yadong in the evening’s main card opener. With Vera and Yan holding strong at No. 3 and No. 4 in the division, a fight between the two top-fivers seems logical.
During a recent discussion with Cameron Hanes on YouTube, Vera suggested that a fight between himself and Yan at MSG later this year would be the perfect opportunity to establish who’s next in line at bantamweight.
“In a perfect world, I want to fight November [at] Madison Square Garden and I would like to fight Petr Yan,” Vera said. “So, I think that’s a no-brainer for the fans, for the UFC. And right there you have a former champ against a title challenger. The winner can sit right there waiting for the title shot. It’s a fight that we will fight our asses off because this is a big one. There’s a lot of stake.”
Following the events of UFC 299, Yan called for a fight with Vera — something ‘Chito’ found quite humorous considering Yan had already declined to fight him on two prior occasions.
“[Petr] declined [to fight me] before,” Vera said. “We saw each other at my last fight and he’s like, ‘Hey, I want you next.’ I said, ‘What you talking about, you declined twice.’
Chito Vera says he wants to fight Petr Yan in November at MSG, and says that Petr Yan has turned down to fight him twice before:
“I wanna fight [in] November, Madison Square Garden, and I’d like to fight Petr Yan. The winner can sit right there waiting for the title shot.… pic.twitter.com/LnpiPBL0dA
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 24, 2024
Petr Yan Reaffirms His Interest in Fight Marlon Vera
Following his own impressive showing in Miami last month, Petr Yan doubled down on his desire to fight Marlon Vera during an interview with Gorilla Fighting.
“I’m interested in Marlon Vera, guys who are in the top 5. I’m only interested in fighters who are in the rankings where I am,” Yan said.
Yan’s win over Song Yadong snapped a three-fight losing skid that saw him come up short against Aljamain Sterling, Sean O’Malley, and Merab Dvalishvili.
As for Vera, the Ecuadorian is 5-2 in his last seven fights, but after failing to score another win over ‘Sugar’ at UFC 299, he’ll go back to the drawing board in hopes of earning another opportunity at championship gold.
Watch Yan’s full interview below:
