Marlon Vera vs. Eddie Wineland added to UFC on ESPN 8 in Columbus

Marlon Vera might not be getting a ranked opponent for his next UFC bout, but he will get his hands on a former champion.

The Ecuadorian fighter will take on former WEC champ Eddie Wineland in a bantamweight bout at UFC on ESPN 6 in at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 28.

MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup with a person with knowledge of the booking Friday after an initial posting by the UFC’s broadcast partner, ESPN.

Vera (15-5-1 MMA, 9-4 UFC) was scheduled to fight at UFC 247, but an injury sustained by Jimmie Rivera left him without an opponent. Vera currently is on a five-fight winning streak, all by stoppage. He most recently fought at UFC Tampa, where he picked up a TKO victory over Andre Ewell.

Wineland (24-13-1 MMA, 6-7 UFC) hasn’t set foot in the octagon since UFC 238 in June 2019, where he defeated Grigory Popov in front of his home-area fans in Chicago to snap a two-fight skid. The 35-year-old fighter holds notable wins over Takeya Mizugaki, Brad Pickett and Scott Jorgensen.

With the addition, the latest UFC on ESPN 8 lineup includes:

Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Raphael Assuncao vs. Cody Garbrandt
Aspen Ladd vs. Julianna Pena
Yorgan De Castro vs. Greg Hardy
Mizuki Inoue vs. Tecia Torres
Miguel Baeza vs. Matt Brown
Davey Grant vs. Louis Smolka
Sam Alvey vs. Khalil Rountree
Punahele Soriano vs. Eric Spicely
Tanner Boser vs. Jeff Hughes
 Laureano Staropoli vs. Kaos Williams
Randy Costa vs. Martin Day
Raoni Barcelos vs. Cody Stamann
Marlon Vera vs. Eddie Wineland