Marlon Vera is looking to make a statement against Henry Cejudo.
Earlier this month, the UFC announced that Vera will face Cejudo in a featured main card fight at UFC 292. Coming off a unanimous decision loss to Cory Sandhagen in March, the fight is an opportunity for Vera to rebound with a huge win, but it’s more than just that for “Chito.”
Unhappy with his “flat” performance against Sandhagen, Vera intends to use Cejudo to send a message to the rest of the bantamweight division.
“This is a perfect fight to make a statement,” Vera said on the Believe You Me podcast. “It’s a perfect fight to let them know, hey dude, yes, I slipped but I get the f*** up right away. I just go in there, fight my fight, and this fight I’m planning to do it better than I was before. He can make all the breakdowns he wants, he can talk all the s*** he wants, I know deep down inside he’s still a little bit of a c***. I’m gonna show that. I’m gonna put pressure and wherever the fight goes, I’m gonna f****** fight like my life depends on it, and it’s gonna be a good fight. I guarantee that. It’s gonna be a great fight. I’m gonna come in my best.”
Like Vera, Cejudo is coming into this fight off a loss, dropping a split decision to champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288. That was Cejudo’s first fight in three years, and having gotten so close to reclaiming the title, “Triple C” has already said he’s trying to get back to a title shot as quickly as possible. Currently No. 6 in the UFC’s bantamweight rankings, Vera presents a good opportunity for Cejudo to do just that, but Chito warns the former Olympic gold medalist that doing so is going to be a tall order.
“A guy like him is really good in the clinch,” Vera said. “I I feel like I could wrestle for the next five years and probably don’t get to his level, and that would probably be the same for everybody in the division. If you’re starting on him just wrestling, it’s gonna probably be impossible to win, but this is MMA. The levels get pretty equal once you’re punching people in the face and you keep the right attitude and you keep in shape. You might take me down, you might put me in the clinch, but you’ve still got to fight. Fighting makes us more equal at that level. …
“He’s really ballsy, and I feel like him getting really ballsy is going to make him get [in trouble] with a guy like me. I’m really going to throw at him some fire… I’m going to be attacking a lot. I’m not going to be really worried about ‘Oh, I’m going to get taken down.’ I’m going to f****** fight you, son, anywhere. It’s going to hurt and your heart is going to get really high. I’m winning this fight at all costs. I’m really willing to go deep, deep, deep to get back to that winning column and try to fight for that belt eventually.”
Eventually could some sooner rather than later. Already one of the more popular fighters in the company, a win over a former two-division champion could easily put Chito right back to where he was before the Sandhagen loss. At least, that’s the idea.
“That’s a big head to collect,” Vera said. “That guy’s been a world champion in two different weight classes, made a comeback [that] was a close fight with the champion. If you want to make it big, what else can you do? Just go in there and put it up with the guy, and that will put me right back in title contention.”
UFC 292 takes place on Aug. 19 at the TD Gardens in Boston.