Report: UFC considers Urijah Faber vs. Marlon Vera as Song Yadong encounters potential visa issue

When Marlon Vera fights at UFC on ESPN 8, it could be against none other than UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber.

According to a report from ESPN, Song Yadong (14-4-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC), who trains under Faber (35-11 MMA, 11-7 UFC) at Team Alpha Male, is experiencing a visa issue that could preclude him from competing against Vera on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 8.

No details were given as to what the visa issue is or why it’s coming up now, just one day before the scheduled fight.

To the surprise of many, Faber weighed in Friday morning to official serve as an alternate. He came in at 153 pounds, while Vera was 145.5. Both men usually compete at bantamweight. Yadong also tipped the scale at 145.5.

Faber, who last competed in December and lost to Petr Yan at UFC 245, has expressed his interest to continue fighting after breaking his previous retirement to return last July.

The matchup between Vera (17-5-1 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and Yadong was on-and-off leading up to fight week. After it was initially reported, Vera implied on Twitter that the fight wasn’t happening. Shortly thereafter, an Instagram post by Yadong indicated it was.

At Thursday’s media day, both fighters explained their side of the story. Yadong said it was a visa issue but that everything was straightened out.

UFC on ESPN 8 takes place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.