Marlon Vera fires back at "hillbilly" Cory Sandhagen for criticizing 'Chito's' UFC 299 performance against Sean O'Malley

Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen appear to be at odds. Following Sandhagen's recent castigation of his performance at UFC 299, 'Chito' has now hit back at his bantamweight rival.

Vera's latest octagon appearance witnessed him suffer a one-sided unanimous decision defeat in his rematch against UFC bantamweight champion 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley at UFC 299 this past Saturday night. Sandhagen later posted a breakdown video of the matchup to his YouTube channel.

In the video, 'The Sandman', known as a respectful fighter who generally refrains from trash talk, lambasted Vera. Sandhagen himself holds a split decision victory over 'Chito'.

On that note, 'The Sandman' opined that 'Sugar' utilized a strategy similar to the one he used against Vera, primarily focusing on feints, footwork, and long-range striking. Sandhagen asserted that the Ecuadorian fighter had no business fighting O'Malley at UFC 299. The former interim UFC bantamweight title challenger labeled 'Chito' a "punching bag" and lauded the champion for his outstanding performance.

Sandhagen suggested that he himself was deceived by the hype surrounding Vera heading into UFC 299 and believed that 'Chito' could win again. Regardless, 'The Sandman' acknowledged his misjudgment. He further indicated that 'Sugar' showcased exceptional striking in the rematch and implied that Vera looked like a homeless version of himself.

Watch Sandhagen criticize Vera in the video below:

The condemnation directed by Sandhagen toward Vera set fight fans abuzz. Certain sections of the MMA community expressed their support for 'The Sandman' and hailed his assessment as accurate, whereas others opined that he'd been unnecessarily vitriolic.

For his part, Vera has now taken to X and fired back at Sandhagen. The Ecuadorian KO artist referred to his American counterpart as a hillbilly. Furthermore, he jibed at the martial arts-related tutorial content that Sandhagen posts on his social media handles. 'Chito's' tweet against 'The Sandman' read as follows:

"Cory no one feel sorry for yourself hillbilly, keep it up on the tutorials u d**chebag"

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What's next for Marlon Vera after losses against Cory Sandhagen and Sean O'Malley?

In his past three MMA bouts, Marlon Vera has gone 1-2. 'Chito' was beaten via split decision by Cory Sandhagen in March 2023, but he bounced back with a unanimous decision victory over Pedro Munhoz in August 2023. Vera's latest fight, his rematch against Sean O'Malley at UFC 299 (March 9, 2024), ended in a unanimous decision defeat.

Given Marlon Vera's recent loss to bantamweight elite Cory Sandhagen and reigning UFC bantamweight kingpin Sean O'Malley, the consensus is that he's likely out of the 135-pound title picture for now. Presently, it's unclear as to whom 'Chito' will fight next and when he'll return.

That said, Marlon Vera's long-running rivalry against Sean O'Malley is far from over. In a pair of tweets after UFC 299, Vera appears to have accused 'Sugar' of greasing in their rematch. As for Cory Sandhagen, he seems to be on a collision course with the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.