Marlon Vera really didn’t like the decision he got at UFC Vancouver.
This past Saturday, Vera fought Aiemann Zahabi in the feature bout of UFC Vancouver, and despite knocking Zahabi down in the second round, Vera lost a split decision. It was Chito’s third consecutive loss, and he was clearly upset in the immediate aftermath, claiming the judges robbed him. And a few days later, Vera still feels the same way,
”This fight, I came with energy,” Vera told Yahoo Sports on Monday. “I came hard, and I honestly — I watched the fight last night by myself to try and judge it, because I’m my biggest critic. I’m going to be honest — I still think I won the fight. I’m not saying it was a f***ing 10-8 round each round, but I believe I won the fight.”
The fight was closely contested, with Vera having the biggest moment of the bout, but failing to capitalize on it. Still, he maintains that he should have won the fight, and says it’s only by the grace of UFC security that he didn’t go on to have a second, unsanctioned, scrap immediately afterward.
“When fight ends, I was like, ‘I won, I took the decision,’” Vera said. “When they say split decision, I went, ‘Oh, no.’ I literally say word for word, ‘Please, God, give me the opportunity to advance.’ That’s all I say in my mind when I close my eyes. Then when they say his name, I say, ‘F*ck everybody,’ and just f*cking start flipping [the bird], I was f*cking pissed. Thank God Elliott, the UFC security guy, it’s someone that I love and respect and he’s a very cool guy. Thank God he was there in that moment, because if I would have encountered a judge, I would have slapped the motherf*cker.
“I probably left before [Zahabi] even got to the back. I was pissed. … I literally went to medicals, where they cut the wraps, and they ask if you’re fine, I was like, ‘I’m all good.’ I said, ‘Just get me f*cking an x-ray for my f*cking finger.’ I was f*cking out. That took like, 90 seconds, and I literally walked from that to the car, barefoot, in my shorts, no t-shirt, no hoodie, nothing. Just walked out, go to the hotel and just walked straight to my room.”
The loss is another tough setback for Vera, who challenged for the UFC bantamweight title last year, but has not won a bout in over two years. But Chito isn’t letting that, or his feelings about the judging, affect him moving forward.
“It’s not worth talking about it. It’s in the past,” Vera said. “The only important thing right now is, perhaps I don’t have the momentum on the outside, with the bigger financials, more sponsors, more looks at me, because that’s what a win will bring — but at least mentally and spiritually, the momentum felt like a win.
“It’s positive going forward. That’s all that matters in real life. I’m 32, I’m not in a rush. I’m not 20, but with the experience I have, the health I have and the level that I’m fighting, you’ve gotta see things with a positive mindset and with a smile on your face. The finish line is still far. You might as well keep on going, because you might find something great on the road.”
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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Haters gonna act like this man is still faking.
Correct. This is the only correct position.
Justin Gaethje talking about Khabib.
It’s a good thing Chito didn’t assault a judge because, I’m sorry, it wasn’t a robbery. If you scored the bout for Chito, that’s fine, but rational people can agree the fight was close and a Zahabi scorecard is reasonable. Chito simply didn’t do anything for huge streches of the fight. Like he always does.
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