"Everything is to benefit 'Sugar'" - Marlon Vera claims the UFC is protecting Sean O'Malley

Marlon Vera is used to fighting extremely hard for everything he has, which is why it's so obvious to him that his former rival 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley is getting preferential treatment from the UFC.

Vera was supposed to be just another opponent for O'Malley to beat up when they were booked to fight in August 2020. While O'Malley brought the heat early in their fight, a perfectly placed calf kick left 'Sugar' on one leg, and Vera quickly took advantage, finishing the fight via TKO at 4:40 of the first round.

O'Malley bounced back from that defeat to win his next three fights in impressive fashion. Now he's set to face No. 10 ranked bantamweight Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 on July 2, which Vera sees as just another example of tailor-made matchmaking. Speaking to Brendan Schaub on Food Truck Diaries, Vera agreed Munhoz is a beast but added:

"They couldn't find him a better fight in the top ten. They find the smaller guy with the shorter reach. Everything is to benefit 'Sugar' because even if he lost, he gonna say 'Aw, I fought a tough guy,' which is like ... who f***ing cares? I've beat him."

Watch the full Food Truck Diaries episode with Marlon Vera below:

Marlon Vera is on his own solid upward trajectory at the moment. While he lost a tough decision to Jose Aldo immediately after the O'Malley win, he followed that up with three wins in a row. Most recently, he survived a tough start to beat the brakes off Rob Font in an exciting five round main event.

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Marlon Vera has accepted Petr Yan's call out to fight next

While there has been talk of Marlon Vera rematching Sean O'Malley if O'Malley wins at UFC 276, 'Chito' sounded much more interested in fighting former bantamweight champion Petr Yan. After dismissing Dominick Cruz for refusing to fight him, Vera told Schaub:

"I don't have time to push another man to fight me. I move forward. Petr Yan called me out, he's going to get it. He want it, I'm going to give it to him ... I guarantee everybody I stop the guy."

Vera made it clear that he wasn't buying into the myth of Yan as unbeatable. He said:

"This motherf***er, you shoot him between the eyes, he's gonna die. He doesn't have two d***s. He's got one f***ing d***. I don't give a f***, he's got two hands, two legs, you take a s***, you wipe the same as I do. F*** you, I'm going to fight you."

If the timeline Petr Yan gave during his callout of Vera was accurate, it sounds like we may see the two fight sometime in the fall, if the UFC doesn't decide to match Vera back up with O'Malley.