Marlon “Chito” Vera finally found his way out of what he called a nightmare.
After four straight losses left him questioning himself and fighting off plenty of ‘demons’, Vera beat Charles Jourdain at UFC 331 to snap the skid and remind himself that he’s still got plenty of fight left.
“It’s not a secret, right? It’s been a long time just falling short, and falling short, and you know, you lose two in a row, it’s part of the game,” Vera told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.
“I felt like I was just in a hole. It was like a nightmare. Couldn’t get out of there.”
Vera admitted those recent losses had been weighing on him, and even with a great camp, those doubts followed him right into the locker room. This time, he basically told those demons to screw off and gave himself a chance to show what he could still do.
“Then I went to Mexico City and fell short again. Every wall around me just falling on top of me. (For this fight) The whole camp was amazing, but walking into the locker room, walking into warming up, there was a lot of demons just knocking (on) the door and kicking the door,” he said.
“I was just like f*ck you man. I gotta feed my family. I want to keep my job, I’m healthy, I feel strong. Told myself I’m going to give myself a chance to see what I can do with a different look.”
Vera isn’t making any big promises about what comes next after his UFC 331 win. For now, he’s more interested in enjoying the moment, getting back to his people and celebrating the victory properly.
“What’s next this year? New York, and Vegas. Man we’ll see. I have never been in this position,” he said.
“I’m going to soak in tonight, going to go back to my family, my team and my friends, and…probably get drunk.”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Marlon Chito Vera above.