‘The Dude Had No Tactical Fighting’

Marlon “Chito” Vera’s first career Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title fight didn’t go as planned.

UFC 299 was a moment of truth for both Vera and his Bantamweight rival, the champion, Sean O’Malley. Since Vera’s first round technical knockout of O’Malley in August 2020, “Sugar” went on to become their division’s champion and ultimately led to a rematch this past weekend (March 9, 2024).

O’Malley, 29, got redemption for his lone career defeat (18-1, 1 no contest) when he picked apart the Ecuadorian en route to a unanimous decision title defense (watch highlights). Vera, 31, will now go back to the drawing board, and that means facing another talented opponent in the deep 135-pound ranks. Former champion, Henry Cejudo, likes the idea of that being him, should UFC offer the option.

“Sean’s f—king good, man,” Cejudo said on his Pound 4 Pound podcast (h/t MMA Junkie). “When it comes to striking, he’s got good fakes. Everything that he was doing before, now he’s a lot tighter. His distance was better. He was able to really pick Chito apart like you wouldn’t believe. I’m a bit disappointed with Chito.

“I’m thinking Chito’s going to at least fight him, at least attempt a takedown, but Chito never attempted anything,” he continued. “Flat-footed, never faked, never used all that — like, he was pretty much just missing. He kind of pulled the same card when he fought Cory Sandhagen, just fought in the last 10 seconds of the fifth round.”

Cejudo, 37, will also look to rebound in his next fight after a tough unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 last month (Feb. 17, 2024). The Olympic gold medalist wrestler mentioned ahead of his defeat how his career would likely end with a second consecutive setback. However, the sour taste is just too much for him to leave in place.

When it comes to Vera, Cejudo is confused about where his current mentality is after the aforementioned Sandhagen loss that came via a one-sided split decision in March 2023.

“I don’t know where this dude’s head is, but the only thing that I could say, there could be a potential fight with me and Chito,” Cejudo said. “I think because of the ranking. I don’t mind it. I’m still trying to get that Brandon Moreno fight, but Chito, especially the way he’s performing, he just decides to fight in the last minute of every five-round fight. I just don’t know where his head’s at.

“I don’t know if it’s that pressure that gets to him,” he continued. “But either way, man, the dude had no tactical fighting, never attempted a takedown, never attempted to really cover the distance and just bring the fight, was reacting to Sean O’Malley, to all his fakes. I’d never seen somebody twitch so damn much, and that was like the biggest thing.”

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For complete UFC 299 results and play-by-play, click HERE!