Marlon Vera exudes confidence ahead of Cory Sandhagen clash

Ahead of his fight set to commence tonight, Marlon Vera has openly praised Cory Sandhagen's skills in the octagon but believes he is better than his opponent and will prove that when the cage door closes.

'Chito' is somewhat of an anomaly at bantamweight and while he is incredibly skilled, his devastating knockout power separates him from the rest of the division. As shown in numerous fights under the UFC banner, the star is capable of shutting the lights out on his opponents from the opening bell to the final moments.

As he approaches yet another blockbuster clash in his weight class, Marlon Vera speaks of the confidence he has despite knowing how challenging Cory Sandhagen will be later tonight:

"Another main event, another chance to put on a great performance and keep climbing the ladder and eventually become a world champion... When you're ready, it doesn't matter who's in front of you. It doesn't matter what's his style, what they do, how they fight, if you wanna be a world champion, you gotta be able to fight them all. He's a great fighter, he's a tough guy, he's a smart guy but I'm just better. I worked so hard to get this win, so I'm not really worried about what he's doing or how good he is, I know that already. I'm just really confident in my skills."

Getting his hand raised against the unorthodox Cory Sandhagen will extend Vera's winning run in the octagon to five straight and will likely cement him as a certified future title challenger.

Check out what the South American had to say about his upcoming fight in the post below.

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Will the winner of Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen earn a bantamweight title fight?

Aljamain Sterling is set to put his title on the line for the third time when he meets former two-division UFC titleholder Henry Cejudo later this year.

With the bantamweight division heavily congested at the top, it's unclear who will be next in line for a fight for UFC gold. Sean O'Malley is thought to be the standout competitor who will be granted his chance at glory, while another top challenger in Merab Dvalishvili is within touching distance of a shot.

If either Marlon Vera or Cory Sandhagen can deliver a highlight reel finish or a huge performance on March 25th, they could well steal the spotlight from the rest of the division and force their way into a championship clash.