![Marlon Vera (left) talks about his upcoming fight against Mario Bautista (right). [Images courtesy: Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/04/a706d-17455520562412-1920.jpg)
![Marlon Vera (left) talks about his upcoming fight against Mario Bautista (right). [Images courtesy: Getty]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Marlon Vera is scheduled to face Mario Bautista at UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey, on June 7. Ahead of that, Vera shared his thoughts about going up against Bautista.
'Chito' has previously challenged for the bantamweight title. However, he has struggled to find winning momentum in his recent fights, with a record of 1-3 in his last four bouts. Because of this, Vera has aimed to put out a top performance in his upcoming fight.
In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the UFC bantamweight veteran stated:
"That's a guy coming off 7 wins. That's a guy that no one has figured out... If you're looking at the top 15 as a top 5, that's probably the toughest fight. I'm here for a reason, and this is another chance for me to prove myself and go in there and put a clinic on a guy like this."
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He added:
"I'm excited. I've been training so hard and I'm ready to go, man. This is a big opportunity for me to remind the division what I'm about to do and where I'm going from here."
Check out Marlon Vera's comments below:
Mario Bautista discusses the importance of getting a win over Marlon Vera
In contrast to Marlon Vera's recent performances, Mario Bautista is currently on a seven-fight win streak. In his latest fight, he defeated Jose Aldo by split decision.
As Bautista aims for a top-five spot in the UFC bantamweight rankings, he believes that a victory over Vera will help him achieve that goal. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, the American fighter said:
"He's number six in the division, so that puts me right on the edge of the top five. That gets me a top-five fight, getting past 'Chito' there. He's a big name, as well. I'm at the point of my career I'm fighting big names and people with big followings, and are great fighters, as well."
Check out Mario Bautista's comments below (5:37):
Currently, Vera is ranked 7th in the UFC bantamweight rankings, while Bautista is three places below him in 10th place.
