Chito Vera responds to callout from Cory Sandhagen at UFC Vegas 60

Marlon “Chito” Vera was in attendance for Cory Sandhagen’s victory over Song Yadong at UFC Vegas 60 and he has responded to a callout.

Sandhagen and Yadong went one-on-one inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 17. A slicing elbow through the eyebrow of Yadong caused a nasty cut that would eventually decide the fight before the fifth round could begin. The doctor called the fight off after observing the cut, and Sandhagen was awarded the fourth-round TKO.

After the fight, Sandhagen called for a showdown with either Vera or Merab Dvalishvili. The UFC had cameras rolling on Vera after the fight and he made it clear that he’s more than willing to accept Sandhagen’s challenge.

“Well, if he wants it, he can get it,” Vera said. “I’m not shying away from any fight. I’m a fighter, I’ll fight anybody. I wanna be a world champion. If I wanna get there and get the belt, I don’t run away from no one.”

Vera also gave his take on Sandhagen’s performance and he was complimentary.

“It was a fun fight,” Vera said. “I’m impressed by anybody. That’s how I push myself. Everybody in the UFC’s a hard fight. Anybody can win at this level. Like Mac Miller said, ‘I don’t f*cking trip.’ I’m ready to go.”

“Chito” is actually one spot below Sandhagen on the official UFC bantamweight rankings. Vera is ranked at number five, while Sandhagen is the number four-ranked UFC bantamweight.

Vera is coming off a stellar head kick knockout victory over Dominick Cruz. He is riding a four-fight winning streak and hasn’t been defeated since December 2020, when he lost to Jose Aldo via unanimous decision.