Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera will remain on UFC 292.
A New Opponent
The #6 bantamweight contender was hit by some bad news last week, when his original opponent Henry Cejudo announced his withdrawal from their upcoming fight due to injury. With a little more than a month out, Vera pleaded with former champ Petr Yan to step in for the battle-scarred ‘Triple C’.
Vera will instead settle for #10 ranked Pedro Munhoz, who has agreed to fight him in Boston. The UFC is close to finalizing the bantamweight bout for Aug. 19th, according to MMA Fighting after an initial announcement from Vera’s management team.
The Lead-Up
Munhoz got back into the win column in April, where he defeated top prospect Chris Gutierrez by decision at UFC Kansas City. This victory put an end to an unlucky skid for ‘The Young Punisher’ who lost to former champs Jose Aldo & Dominick Cruz before suffering a no-contest against next title challenger Sean O’Malley.
Competing in the UFC for almost a decade, the 36-year-old has seen almost everything… except Chito Vera’s style.
Ecuador’s Vera entered 2023 as a hot-shot contender with heavy title implications. However, those title shot talks would be halted when ‘Chito’ dropped a dominant decision loss to Cory Sandhagen at UFC San Antonio in March.
The setback from Sandhagen snapped a four-fight win streak for Vera, which included wins over Dominick Cruz and Rob Font. Vera will look to regain his once-powerful momentum when he crosses paths with Pedro Munhoz.
