Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera returning to where it all started in Mexico City, this time as a man fighting for his job

A little bit over 11 years in the past, Marlon Vera confirmed up on the scene in Mexico City as a fresh-faced child to kick off the prelims for UFC 180. He was simply 21 years previous on the time, the one seen tattoo on his chest was the identify Ana Paula, his 3-year-old daughter who had been born with a uncommon neurological situation recognized as Mobius syndrome.

“Chito,” as he was not but popularly recognized, was fighting to earn cash for his medical payments, and the primary cease on what would change into a contender’s odyssey. He was the primary fighter to ever stroll out for a UFC occasion in Mexico City, and he cried on his approach to the Octagon with the flag of Ecuador wrapped round his shoulders.

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All that looks like eons in the past in the UFC panorama.

UFC 180 was headlined by Mark Hunt and Fabricio Werdum, each lengthy gone from the heavyweight ranks. Yair Rodriguez was making his UFC debut, simply the identical as Vera, and Cain Velasquez was nonetheless a full eight pay-per-views away from turning into “Sea Level Cain.”

“Yeah, it’s been a long time and coming back here it’s kind of special, right?” Vera informed Uncrowned this week of his full circle second. “This is where my career started and it was surreal being there in UFC 180, so I’m pretty excited to be back here.”

Vera’s story has developed in ways in which even he might by no means have been ready to inform. He misplaced to Macro Beltran, a proud native of Michoacán who had the gang on his aspect at UFC 180, but as a result of Vera took the combat lower than two months after showing on “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America” ​​— where he starred Henry Briones with an upkick — he knew there could be extra possibilities.

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Cut ahead 24 UFC fights, 4 important occasions, eight end-of-the-night bonuses, one colossal Sean O’Malley upset, one glinting subsequent title shot and loads of tattoo ink later, and Vera is making her return to Mexico City. He will combat David Martinez in the co-main occasion of UFC Fight Night 268 on Saturday, as soon as once more solid in the position of interloper. Martinez hails from Ecatepec de Morelos, not removed from town heart, and he’ll have the partisan crowd in his palm.

This time, Vera is not fighting to make her identify or for her daughter’s medical payments. This time he’s probably fighting for his roster spot. Successful losses in opposition to O’Malley in a rematch, Deiveson Figueiredo and Aiemann Zahabi have delivered him to what he considers his do-or-die second, particularly if he desires to steer himself again into competition.

“Coming off three losses is not a nice spot for anyone, but at the end of the day, those are decisions,” he says. “I’m choosing to make it right, and to come out on top of my career again. My team has been supporting me, helping me, just pushing me forward to figure it out how to do it.

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“And then apart from that, it is like when your again is in opposition to the wall, you are type of fighting for your life, as a result of it’s your profession on the road. It’s your identify on the road and do not f***ing need to lose. So, what you do, you get on the appropriate psychological aspect of issues, and also you choose and select your battles exterior fighting. And then, simply focus and reduce all the distractions, reduce all the bulls***, and simply consider fighting 24/7.”

Over the course of a decade, Vera — a down-to-earth fighter who genuinely speaks his mind — has become one of the most beloved fighters in the UFC’s bantamweight division. His highly visible rivalry with O’Malley gave everyone a glimpse of his character, and he remains a draw because of it.

Yet since dropping a split decision to Zahabi in November, he’s been trying to reset. He took a family trip to Italy through the holidays, visiting the Vatican and the ruins of Rome, and spent the last few weeks training in relative isolation in Big Bear, California, to help him acclimate to Mexico City’s rarefied air. Mexico City sits at 7,350 feet above sea level, which is over 2,000 feet higher than the Mile High City of Denver.

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He posted a picture on his Instagram of him cooling off after a training session in a drift of snow.

“It was amazing being isolated in the woods,” he says. “There you simply eat, prepare, sleep and concentrate on the duty, and it was a fairly nice expertise. Now I do know why all the big-name boxers used to spend a lot time there or dwell there.”

Now 33 years old, Vera hasn’t given up on the idea of ​​becoming Ecuador’s first UFC champion, which he had the shot of becoming in the rematch with O’Malley at UFC 299 less than a year ago. On the official UFC rankings, he is still hovering there at No. 9. Even right now, during the hardest stretch of his career when a title shot feels a million miles away, you can hear what it would mean to him when he talks about it.

“I mean it from the bottom of my heart, I would love to touch that belt one day,” he says.

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But the Ecuadorian who has pulled into the pole position to earn that distinction is 26-year-old Michael Morales, the undefeated welterweight who is closing in on a title shot against Islam Makhachev. Vera has been around the game long enough to know that he’s looking at something special when it comes to Morales, and it’s one of the reasons why Vera introduced him to his manager when the campaign kicked up to get Morales into the UFC.

“That guy is af***ing monster, man,” Vera says. “He’s enormous. He’s obtained energy, he is a good wrestler. So it’s like the brand new technology. Every technology goes to be higher than the final one, and he is going to simply hold getting higher and higher and higher.”

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It is perhaps fitting that Vera returns to the place where it all started for him in the UFC. Just as he was trying to do more than a decade ago, he is trying to prove he belongs where he is against Martinez, who is coming off a signature victory over Rob Font. The 27-year-old Martinez has won nine fights in a row and will be doing what young, hungry fighters seek to do in big spots.

That is, take the juice from an established name.

“Martinez is a great fighter, he’s a tough dude,” Vera says. “He strikes properly, he makes a lot of motion and tries to join whereas he strikes, so you are going to observe him down, reduce the space, simply put the stress on him and blend it up. Maybe as soon as I’m in there and I’ll have a really feel for it, I’ll have a higher likelihood to know what I’ll do.

“But his career started pretty good, so I just have one job and that’s to stop him.”

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It’s been a wild experience, and it comes full circle Saturday night time for Marlon “Chito” Vera. The query of whether or not he is nonetheless a menace in the bantamweight division is being requested louder than ever.

“And all the answers will be there on Saturday night,” he says.