Pedro Munhoz to Fight Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC 292

Pedro Munhoz is stepping in…

The 36-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist, a perennial top-10 bantamweight, will face Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC 292 on August 19, after Vera’s original opponent, Henry Cejudo, withdrew from the bout due to injury.

Pedro MunhozVera (22-8-1) was supposed to face Cejudo in the co-main event of UFC 292, but Cejudo withdrew shortly after the bout was agreed to because of a shoulder injury.

Vera’s management team announced the new pairing via social media on Friday.

Munhoz (20-7) has floated amongst the UFC bantamweight rankings for years, although he’s only 2-4 in his last six outings. All four losses, however, came against current or former UFC champs in Aljamain SterlingFrankie EdgarJose Aldo and Dominick Cruz.

Fighting out of American Top Team, Munhoz is coming off a much-needed upset over Chris Gutierrez in April.

Vera, of Ecuador, will look to rebound from a split-decision loss to Cory Sandhagen in March. Sterling, the defending bantamweight champ, is slated to headline the UFC 292 pay-per-view event against Sean O’Malley.

The event will take place inside TD Garden.

Henry Cejudo to Fight Marlon “Chito” Vera in Bantamweight Contest at UFC 292

Henry Cejudo is preparing for a pivotal contest…

The 36-year-old Mexican American professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler, a former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion, will fight Marlon “Chito” Vera in a bantamweight contest at UFC 292 in August, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Monday.

Henry CejudoContracts haven’t been signed, but both sides have verbally agreed to the bout.

It will take place on the pay-per-view event on August 19 in Boston’s TD Garden.

A bantamweight championship bout between defending champion Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley is slated to headline the card.

Cejudo (16-3) is coming off a failed bid to recapture the 135-pound title in May. The former dual-weight champion came out of a three-year retirement to challenge Sterling at UFC 288, but lost via split decision.

Cejudo initially planned on waiting for a fight against Sterling’s teammate and No. 1-ranked bantamweight title contender Merab Dvalishvili, but opted to jump at an opportunity to fight on August 19, which marks the 15-year anniversary of his Olympic gold medal run in 2008.

Vera (22-8-1), of Ecuador, is also coming off a split decision loss. He came up just short in a five-round fight against Cory Sandhagen in March. Prior to the loss, Vera had won four in a row.

Cejudo and Vera are the UFC’s Nos. 3 and 6-ranked bantamweights, respectively.

Marlon “Chito” Vera to Fight Cory Sandhagen in UFC Fight Night in February

Marlon “Chito” Vera has lined up his next opponent…

The 30-year-old Ecuadorian professional mixed martial artist will face Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Fight Night on February 18 in Las Vegas, the UFC has announced.

Marlon "Chito" VeraVera and Sandhagen, two of the best bantamweights in the world will meet with a title shot on the line.

Sources tell ESPN that bout agreements have been sent out and both sides are set to sign them shortly.

ESPN has Vera ranked No. 3 and Sandhagen at No. 6 in its divisional rankings.

Vera (20-7-1) has won four straight, most recently a head-kick knockout win over former champion Dominick Cruz. He has not lost a fight since December 2020 against legend Jose Aldo. Vera has won 10 of his past 12 fights overall.

Sandhagen (15-4) is coming off a fourth-round TKO win over Song Yadong in September. The Colorado-based fighter snapped a two-fight losing streak with that victory. Sandhagen, 30, has won eight of his 11 fights in the UFC.

Jose Aldo Defeats Rob Font Via Unanimous Decision to Keep Bantamweight Title Hopes Alive

Jose Aldo continues his quest for a title in a new division.

The 35-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, arguably the greatest featherweight of all time with a résumé good enough to put him on the short list of the best MMA fighters ever, defeated the up-and-coming Rob Font via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Jose Aldo,Aldo rocked Font several times with right hands, hurt his legs with hard kicks and damaged him with hooks to the body. He looked like the Aldo of old while also mixing in some new wrinkles as a bantamweight, such as superior grappling.

“I want to be a champion in this division, and I’m working toward that,” Aldo said through an interpreter in his post-fight interview. “Nobody is gonna stop me.”

Coming in, ESPN had Font ranked No. 5 and Aldo No. 6 in the world at 135 pounds. Aldo said afterward he’d like a title shot next, but the situation is a bit messy.

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has been out since March following neck surgery and is likely to face Petr Yan, the former champion and current interim titleholder, to unify the titles. Yan lost the title to Sterling when he was disqualified for an illegal knee at UFC 259 on March 6.

In lieu of a chance at the title, Aldo had another proposition: former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, who beat Cory Sandhagen over the summer in his return from a two-year doping suspension. Dillashaw is currently recovering from knee surgery.

“Dillashaw is right there,” Aldo said. “Let me fight Dillashaw.”

The fight Saturday was a story of volume versus power. Font had a lot of success with his boxing, especially early on and with his jab. But Aldo was mostly unfazed by the blows. Meanwhile, Aldo rocked or dropped Font in every round except for the third. Font had moments but never hurt Aldo the way Aldo hurt him.

Aldo nearly finished Font in the fourth and fifth rounds. The fifth was the closest. Font knew he was down on the cards and was coming forward looking for a stoppage victory. But Aldo lit him up with a right cross and dropped him. Aldo followed with shots on the ground, took Font’s back and nearly had a choke locked in. Font, though, survived until the bell.

Aldo’s two takedowns were the first ones of his five-fight bantamweight run in UFC, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

“I’m gonna be standing up, I’m gonna be going to the ground,” Aldo said. “I want to be all-around. This is the new Aldo you see.”

Aldo (31-7) held the UFC/WEC featherweight title for parts of six years (2009-15), including seven title defenses, a record in that division. The Brazil native moved down to bantamweight in 2019. He lost his first two fights there, including a vacant title bout against Yan. But Aldo has won three straight and looked very good in wins over contenders Pedro Munhoz and Marlon “Chito” Vera before Saturday.

This is Aldo’s first three-fight winning streak since his 18-fight winning streak was broken in 2015 by Conor McGregor. He cashed as a +125 underdog Saturday, marking just the seventh time he was an underdog in his UFC career.

Font (19-5) had a four-fight winning streak snapped. Most recently before Saturday, he took home a unanimous-decision win over former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt. The Massachusetts native had not lost since 2018. Font, 34, sports a 9-4 UFC record and looked better than ever since returning from knee surgery last year.

“The guy is a legend,” Font said of Aldo. “He’s tough, man. I feel like I can beat him, but it just wasn’t my night. Hats off to him. … I just went five rounds with one of the legends of the sport. I’m gonna get better off this, for sure.”

Marlon “Chito” Vera to Fight Frankie Edgar for UFC 268 in November

Marlon “Chito” Vera may be returning to the Octagon this fall…

The UFC is targeting a bantamweight matchup between the 28-year-old Ecuadorian mixed martial artist and Frankie Edgar for UFC 268 on November 6, according to ESPN.

Marlon “Chito” Rivera

Contracts haven’t been signed, but both sides have verbally agreed to the matchup. The pay-per-view event is expected to take place at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Vera (19-7-1) is riding some momentum, coming off a decision win over Davey Grant in June. He is 2-1 in his past three, including wins over Grant and Sean O’Malley. His loss in that stretch was to former featherweight champion Jose Aldo. He is 7-2 over his past nine.

A former lightweight champion, Edgar (24-9) is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Cory Sandhagen in February. A longtime lightweight and featherweight, Edgar has now competed in the UFC’s 135-pound division twice. He is 1-1, with a five-round decision win over Pedro Munhoz in August.

Edgar, 39, fights out of Toms River, New Jersey. This will mark his first fight in New York since 2016 and only the third overall of his storied career.

A welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington is slated to headline the UFC 268 event.