MIAMI – As seen by the media attention this week ahead of UFC 299, Marlon Vera has proven to be a superstar for Ecuador, and “Chito” is hoping to turn that interest into a future UFC event for his country.
Vera (21-8-1 MMA, 15-7 UFC), the greatest MMA fighter to come out of Ecuador, fights this Saturday for the UFC bantamweight title as he takes on champion Sean O'Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in the headlining act of UFC 299 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+). It’s a huge fight for his career as it’s the first time he competes for a UFC title, but Vera also sees it as a huge fight for his country since he believes the idea of having a UFC event in Ecuador is very dependent on his success.
“That’s one of my biggest dreams, but personally, like for example, look at Mexico,” Vera told reporters, including MMA Junkie, in Spanish at Wednesday’s UFC 299 media day. “Mexico has champions and former champions. Look at Alexa Grasso, Yair (Rodriguez) who was interim champion, Brandon (Moreno) who was champion, lost, but then won it again – they went last month and in 2019, so that shows you how difficult it is to get them to your country.
