Marlon Vera is looking to bounce back after his UFC title fight defeat to Sean O’Malley and as he eyes a ‘Mecca’ return, also takes aim at a former world champion.
With bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley’s next title defense expected to come against surging contender Merab Dvalishvili later this year, fan-favorite Marlon Vera is keen to make his return bout a number one contender’s clash – and he knows exactly who and when he wants to fight next.
Marlon Vera reacts to UFC bantamweight title defeat to Sean O’Malley
In the immediate aftermath of his title fight defeat at UFC 299, Vera took to social media to post a heartfelt message to his supporters, vowing to come back stronger and better than ever:
“I dream about last night my whole life and fell short at the end of the day I will be Back thanks to my family and team for being by my side. The love of Ecuador was felt more than ever thanks for supporting me that way I will be back more strong. The belt will be mine one day. Thank you.”
Now, just over a month removed from UFC 299, Vera has set out his path for how he’ll get back to a bantamweight title shot – and that path runs through ‘No Mercy’.
Marlon Vera takes aim at former champ Petr Yan for declining fights
Speaking to Cameron Hanes via the Keep Hammering Collective podcast, Marlon Vera laid out his path towards his ‘perfect’ return to action and had one name in mind for who he’d like to fight next:
“In a perfect world, I want to fight [in] November, Madison Square Garden, and I would like to fight Petr Yan – I think that’s a no-brainer for the fans and the UFC.”
Whilst the UFC has not yet officially confirmed that they will be returning to Madison Square Garden later this year, the MMA world leader has made a habit in recent years of gracing the MSG stage each November.
Promoting the fight as a number one contender’s match, Vera explained how “You have a former champ against a title challenger, the winner can sit right there waiting for the title shot [because] this is a big one; there’s a lot at stake.”
Vera then revealed that the fight with Yan had actually almost been made on several occasions before, but it was the Russian boxer who refused to sign a contract:
“He said that he wanted it too, [but] he declined [to fight me] before. We saw each other at my last fight, and he’s like ‘Hey I want you next’, and I said ‘What are you talking about, you declined twice’ – don’t be acting tough right now.”
“He’s like ‘No it wasn’t a good time for me’, well then shut the f*** up and f*** off,” lambasted Vera.
Petr Yan vows to take Chito to ‘mixed martial arts school’ later in the year
With Vera’s claim that talks of a potential fight between Ecuador’s favorite fighting son and the former bantamweight champion have already fallen through on multiple occasions, it shouldn’t be a surprise to hear that Chito has also been on Yan’s ‘hit list’ for some time.
Speaking to Sports Russia, Yan confirmed that after recovering from a string of nasty injuries, he’d like to ideally make his UFC return in the final months of 2024 and named Vera himself as his potential opponent:
“Yes, I’ll be ready just in time for November… Of course, I’ll do it [fight Marlon Vera]. I’ll take him to mixed martial arts school.”
This, after Yan revealed on social media that he had suffered an “ACL rupture, meniscus tear and groin injury,” following his unanimous decision victory over Song Yadong.
In fact, Yan pointed to “how Song Yadong showed his best boxing” in his fight against Vera as a point of comparison between the two, noting that whilst “it went a little off the rails, things won’t go according to plan for Vera either [against him]- That’s a hundred percent.”
“We’re going with what we’ve got so far, October or November is a good time to make that fight,” said the 31-year-old.