Marlon 'Chito' Vera makes his opinion clear on UFC return and shares potential opponent and timeline: "I think that's a great fight"

Marlon 'Chito' Vera recently disclosed when he'd like to return to the octagon and expressed interest in fighting a former champion. He indicated that he is not aiming for an extended layoff but a bout this year is unlikely.

'Chito' is coming off his unanimous decision loss to Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC on ABC 7 this past August. As a result, the former flyweight champion moved to the top-5 of the bantamweight division and could be closing in on a title shot, while Vera is now ranked No.6 and would likely need a pair of wins before he can get back into the title picture at 135 pounds.

During his latest appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, 'Chito' expressed interest in returning to the octagon in the first quarter of 2025 and named former two-division champion Henry Cejudo as a potential opponent. They were initially scheduled to fight at UFC 292 last year but 'Triple C' withdrew due to an injury.

Cejudo is coming off back-to-back losses to Aljamain Sterling and reigning bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, so a bout with Vera would be logical:

"I think January. [Los Angeles] can be great for me so I could have my own crowd...LA could be good or Mexico City for the main event. And I mean, the guy ahead of me is Henry Cejudo...We'll see, I think that's a great fight." [1:01:05 onwards]

Check out the full episode of The Ariel Helwani Show featuring Marlon 'Chito' Vera's appearance below:

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Marlon 'Chito' Vera names opponent he initially wanted to fight

Despite naming Henry Cejudo as a potential opponent when he returns to the octagon, Marlon 'Chito' Vera named another opponent he initially had in mind when outlining his return to the octagon.

During the aforementioned clip, Vera mentioned that he wanted to fight former bantamweight champion Petr Yan, but he had already been booked for a bout against former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo:

"Honestly, the fight that I really really wanted was Yan but then God bless Figueiredo, he took it from me. So, good luck out there for both of those men." [1:01:50 onwards in the above video]

Check out Marlon 'Chito' Vera's final faceoff from his most recent bout against Deiveson Figueiredo below: