Chito Vera Turns Down Short-Notice Fight Against Top 10 Bantamweight

Marlon "Chito" Vera was offered a short-notice fight, but the UFC bantamweight turned it down.

Mar 9, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Marlon Vera before his fight with Sean O’Malley (not shown) during UFC 299 at Kayesa Center. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Marlon "Chito" Vera decided against taking a short-notice fight against a rising contender.

Vera is as tough as they come at bantamweight, but he wants to ensure he has a proper camp before returning to the Octagon. Having dropped his last two bouts, it's hard to blame "Chito" for being cautious.

This is especially true when the opponent offered was Song Yadong.

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Chito Vera Turned Down Short-Notice Fight with Song Yadong

Marlon Vera made an appearance on "The Ariel Helwani Show" and he revealed turning down an offer to fight on short notice.

"They actually called me two weeks ago for a short-notice [fight] and I had like four weeks to pretty much make weight. I was like, you know what? I'll do it January or February."

When asked who the opponent was, Vera had no issue revealing it was a surging contender.

"It was Song Yadong in Vegas at the Apex, and I love it. I got five rounds to get him tired and kick his ass, but then I said, 'Okay, don't get excited again because it's so easy to get excited when you're running 13 miles every other week."

Yadong has gone 5-2 in his last seven outings. The two losses were against Cory Sandhagen and Petr Yan. He still remains a threat at 135 pounds.

One has to wonder if the UFC will try to rebook this one for 2025.

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