On Saturday night in Miami at UFC 299, Marlon “Chito” Vera will finally fight for the UFC bantamweight title against reigning champion “Suga” Sean O’Malley. Vera has been competing in the UFC for almost 10 full years since making his debut at UFC 180 in November 2014, and the 31-year-old has a chance to become the first ever Ecuadorian UFC champion if he wins Saturday’s fight.

Vera is a fan favorite, known for an exciting fighting style that has earned him five Performance of the Night bonuses and three Fight of the Night bonuses. He entered MMA through Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and he has shown himself to be well-versed across combat sports as an excellent striker who also has an elite ground game.

Vera can claim the ultimate prize and lift UFC gold for the first time on Saturday. With the big day approaching, let’s take some time to look back on 10 of the biggest moments from the road that brought him to this point.

What is Chito Vera’s UFC record?

Chito Vera has compiled a 15-7 record since entering the UFC in 2014. He has spent much of that time in the top 10 of the UFC rankings, and he currently sits at No. 5 after his most recent victory over Pedro Munhoz last August.

Several pundits have argued that Vera isn’t the most deserving fighter for this title shot, since Georgian fighter Merab Dvalishvili – who has impressed in his last few fights – arguably got a tough break in being passed over here.

However, the history between Vera and O’Malley almost certainly was a factor in the UFC’s decision to book this match. Back in 2020, Vera became the first and only fighter to defeat O’Malley when he registered a first-round KO victory at UFC 252.

On paper, O’Malley has the better career record, but Vera has substantially more UFC experience, and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out on Saturday night.

Chito Vera Career Highlights

Although Chito Vera doesn’t boast a perfect record, he has consistently bounced back from his setbacks and recorded wins over some true legends of the sport in Dominick Cruz and Frankie Edgar.

The victory over Edgar in particular was a real career highlight, as Vera recorded a brutal, trademark KO victory against a former UFC champion and future Hall of Famer.

Of course, there have been many other standout performances during a UFC tenure that has seen Vera claim eight post-fight bonuses and a bantamweight record of 10 total finishes. Here, we’ll look at 10 of these great matches that remind us why Vera is one of his division’s most-feared fighters.
Ranking the Top 10 Chito Vera Fights in UFC History

10. Song Yadong defeats Marlon “Chito” Vera

Event: UFC Fight Night on ESPN: Overeem vs Harris
Date: May 16, 2020

This countdown of Chito Vera’s top 10 UFC fights begins with a controversial loss to Song Yadong back in 2020. This fight was a tremendous back-and-forth between two high-level bantamweights and earned Fight of the Night honors, giving both men a well-deserved $50,000.

That night in Jacksonville, all three rounds were competitive, and Song landed slightly more times with 101 significant strikes against Vera’s 92. However, many observers felt that Vera had the better of the exchanges and had success in the clinch. He landed knees and elbows throughout the match in disrupting the Chinese fighter.

Vera also landed two successful takedowns for over three minutes of control time, and many in the arena -- Vera included -- felt he would get his hand raised in victory. Unfortunately for him, the judges unanimously agreed to award the fight to Song. The 29-28 decision enraged Vera.

The result was disappointing, of course, but this was still an excellent, entertaining fight by Vera, and it showcased his skill set. The next nine fights on this list all had much happier endings.

9. Marlon “Chito” Vera defeats Davey Grant

Event: UFC Fight Night on ESPN: The Korean Zombie vs. Ige
Date: June 19, 2021

In the Apex at Las Vegas on June 19, 2021, Chito Vera picked up an impressive unanimous-decision win over experienced English fighter Davey Grant. This was a big turning point in Vera’s career, coming immediately after a tough loss to UFC icon Jose Aldo. The win also came against an opponent who had defeated Vera five years earlier in London.

That first matchup in 2016 saw Grant pick up a comfortable unanimous-decision victory, but the 2021 version of Vera was a different, more dangerous animal than the man who had lost to Grant in England.

Vera dominated this fight, landing 64 percent of his strikes -- as well as both of his takedown attempts -- on his way to avenging the 2016 defeat. In Round 3, he was given a 10-8 edge by two of the three judges on his way to a UD victory that put him back in the win column.

8. Marlon “Chito” Vera defeats Frankie Saenz Event: UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis
   Date: March 23, 2019

We now transition from a fight that saw Chito Vera win a 15-minute decision, to another one that he finished in just 1:25 of the first round. In Nashville in March 2019, the crowd watched Vera record an impressive TKO victory, the quickest of his UFC career to date.

This fight against Frankie Saenz was exciting, as both men came forward with offensive flurries in the opening exchanges but failed to land anything particularly powerful. The fight changed course on one left hook from Vera. That hook floored the Phoenix-based Saenz, who held onto Vera’s leg on the way down.

From there, all it took was a barrage of Vera hammer-fists to Saenz while he was on the ground before referee Jimmy Neely stepped in to make the fight another Vera TKO victory. It was undoubtedly an impressive showing -- one that highlighted Vera’s ability to win fights purely on the strength of his powerful striking.

7. Marlon “Chito” Vera defeats Brad Pickett

Event: UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs Anderson
Date: March 18, 2017

Here is yet another KO victory by Chito Vera against an English fighter. This one took place in hostile territory against British MMA pioneer Brad Pickett. It was Pickett’s farewell fight in the O2 Arena in London, and it was Vera’s job to spoil the party.

Vera came into this one on short notice as a replacement, and, as a result, the fight was set at a catchweight of 140 pounds -- five more than Vera’s usual bantamweight UFC fights. This was hardly a one-sided fight, since the veteran landed nearly as many strikes as Vera and recorded two takedowns on four attempts.

However, as the third round went on, the Ecuadorian began to take over, and Pickett was clearly starting to labor and appearing to show his age. Vera finished the fight with just over a minute left in the third – delivering a brutal head kick that knocked down the Englishman before finishing him with two ground strikes.

The home crowd showered Vera with boos for beating Pickett, but it was a well-earned victory in what was only Vera’s fourth UFC fight.

6. Marlon “Chito” Vera defeats Andre Ewell Event: UFC Fight Night: Joanna vs Waterson
   Date: Oct. 12, 2019

This fight gave Chito Vera an opportunity to showcase his abilities as a mixed martial artist. On this particular Fight Night in Tampa, Vera was buried in the prelims, despite entering the match on a four-fight win streak.

His opponent was Andre Ewell, who had beaten former champion Renan Barao just a year earlier, and this was set to be a tough challenge against a tough opponent who had yet to be knocked out in MMA.

However, Vera would get the job done in the third round after out-landing Ewell. He had particular success on leg kicks, landing 20 of 24 attempts. The closing sequence saw Vera try to submit Ewell at the fence before ultimately directing the fight to the ground.

Ewell was clearly spent, and Vera would finish him decisively, with successive elbows and punches ultimately putting his opponent away. He earned another Performance of the Night bonus, and it was a well-deserved one after such an impressive showing

5. Marlon “Chito” Vera defeats Pedro Munho

Event: UFC 292
Date: Aug. 19, 2023

The No. 5 fight on our list of Chito Vera’s best performances is his most recent outing -- a decision victory over Brazilian fighter Pedro Munhoz.

Coming off a five-round loss to Cory Sandhagen in March, it was vital for Vera to get back on track by beating Munhoz, a UFC veteran who has faced a murderer’s row of UFC bantamweights in his time.

Vera was the betting favorite in this one, but things did not entirely go his way. Both men landed at high volume over the fight’s 15 minutes, and there were no takedowns. The fighters combined for 254 significant strikes before the fight went to the judge’s scorecards.

All three judges scored the fight for Vera -- a decision that was disputed by many in the MMA media. However, this was a gutsy, high-volume performance by Vera in Boston’s TD Garden, and it set him up for his first shot at UFC gold.

4. Marlon “Chito” Vera defeats Sean O’Malley Event: UFC 252
   Date: Aug. 15, 2020

Heading into this weekend’s Chito Vera vs. Sean O’Malley rematch, much of the talk has focused on the fact that Vera is the only man who has ever beaten O’Malley in the champion’s still-young MMA career. That fight took place three and a half years ago during the COVID-19 lockdown era, and O’Malley was the co-main event in just his fifth UFC fight.

O’Malley was riding an accelerating hype train at the time, having scored back-to-back KO victories over Eddie Wineland and Jose Alberto Quinonez. Another win would have taken that excitement up another notch, but Vera was ready to slam the brakes on the “Suga” train.

This was another fight that took place entirely on the feet, as both men relied on their striking, and they shared the spoils for the first four minutes. However, the fight would swing Vera’s way after O’Malley’s leg gave way, allowing Vera to rain down strikes on the ground before Herb Dean stepped in to stop it.

O’Malley claimed that he had suffered a ‘freak’ injury, and he still considers himself undefeated – refusing to acknowledge his loss to Vera. In truth, however, it was an impressive showing from Vera. He utilized his leg kicks to neutralize O’Malley, who was eventually unable to stand with him any longer.

The upcoming UFC 299 rematch is a different fight, of course, but the first one revealed a young fighter who could not quite rise to the level of a stepped-up opponent. There’s no doubt that O’Malley will want revenge here, given the frustrating finish at UFC 252.

3. Marlon “Chito” Vera defeats Rob Font Event: UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera
   Date: April 30, 2022

On April 30, 2022, at Las Vegas, Chito Vera picked up his most recent Fight of the Night award after one of the very best fights of his career. His opponent, Rob Font, missed weight in this one, weighing in at 138½ pounds, which was 2½ over the non-title bantamweight limit of 136.

After eight years in competing in UFC, this was Vera’s first-ever main event, and he would absolutely shine in it. Both men staged a great fight for 25 full minutes, landing 420 combined significant strikes.

Font did out-land Vera over the five rounds, but Vera simply caused a lot more damage and crucially dropped Font in Rounds 2, 3, and 4. He busted up the Massachusetts native, who could easily have been finished at the end of the second round.

This was a tremendously impressive performance by Vera, who showed himself to be a top contender with real power in his hands and an ability to take punches while dishing out his own offense.

It was truly a breakout performance for Vera -- a main event where his opponent missed weight -- and he came through the test with flying colors to earn an extra $50K for his efforts.  Vera’s next fight would see him do more of the same.

2. Marlon “Chito” Vera defeats Dominick Cruz

Event: UFC on ESPN: Vera vs Cruz
Date: Aug. 13, 2022

For the No. 2 fight in our countdown, we look back at Chito Vera’s second main event. This time, he fought against a genuine UFC legend -- and many people’s bantamweight GOAT – in Dominick Cruz. Cruz is one of the top fighters in UFC history, and although he is no longer the fighter he was during his championship runs, he faced Vera when he was coming off a two-fight win streak that included an impressive Fight of the Night victory over Pedro Munhoz.

This fight was definitely going to be a major test for Vera, and it certainly proved to be with Cruz’s trademark defense on display. Vera could only land 39 percent of his strikes, while Cruz seemed to be turning back the clock -- looking fantastic at times, having success with leg kicks, and recording two takedowns.

After three rounds, Cruz appeared to be in front on most people’s scorecards. But during the fourth round, Vera took that decision away from the judges. A stunning head kick two minutes into Round 4 sent “The Dominator” to the canvas, and Vera would finish this one off with a few more strikes on the ground.

Fans at the sold-out arena in San Diego were stunned to see a spectacular knockout of one of the true icons of the sport. It wasn’t as if Vera beat a diminished version of Cruz, because the Arizonan looked excellent for large chunks of the fight. He just couldn’t deal with Vera’s power on a head kick that was set up perfectly.

Vera claimed yet another well-deserved Performance of the Night bonus, something he also achieved in the No. 1 fight on this list.

1. Marlon “Chito” Vera defeats Frankie Edgar

Event: UFC 268
Date: Nov. 6, 2021

For our No. 1 spot, we had to go with Chito Vera’s devastating head-kick KO of former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar during UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden. Edgar had just turned 40 at the time of the fight, and many observers wondered if his powers were on the wane, since Vera came in as the betting favorite.

In the first round, however, Edgar was successful in landing a takedown. He had Vera on the ground and was controlling large portions of the early exchanges, including some trademark ground-and-pound offense.

Vera fared much better in the second round -- taking control of the striking exchanges and starting to piece up the New Jersey native on his feet. It was an impressive showing in that round, as Edgar began to show signs of damage.

In Round 3, Vera experienced one of his best moments in the UFC. At 3:50 of the final round, Vera landed a brutal front kick, sending Edgar to the canvas and ending the fight with one shot that brought the crowd to its feet. Edgar protested, but it was a clean stoppage, and truly a sign of just how good Vera was in earning another POTN bonus.

Will he land a similar blow against “Suga” Sean O’Malley on Saturday? We’ll just have to wait and see, but as these 10 fights show, one can never count out Chito Vera --something UFC fans have learned all too well over the past decade.

Parameters of Rankings

These all-time Chito Vera fights have been ranked based on the quality of each opponent as well as the method of victory -- with knockouts generally taking precedence. The stakes of each fight were also considered, along with any post-fight bonuses that were awarded. Vera’s loss to Song Yadong managed to make the list because it was an impressive performance that ended with a controversial decision.

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