What happened to Marlon Vera's daughter? 'Chito' opens up on challenges his child faces with Moebius Syndrome

Marlon Vera and his wife Maria Paulina Escobar gave birth to their first child, Ana Paula, in 2011. While Ana was being taken past him, the UFC fighter realized for the first time that not everything was okay with her. While doctors soon announced that Ana Paula was born with some condition, the only diagnosis they could initially furnish was that it was not Down syndrome.

It was 48 hours before 'Chito' and his family learned about their daughter's condition: Moebius syndrome. As per renowned plastic surgeon Andre Panossian, Moebius syndrome is a rare neurological condition that affects the muscles controlling facial expressions, rendering patients unable to smile, among other things.

Speaking of the initial shock after receiving the news, Vera said in a UFC Connect video:

"The doctor came in and he's like 'Okay guys, there's definitely something going on with her, it's not Down's syndrome but we are not very sure what condition she is born with. And everybody in that room was just looking at each other like, 'F**k'...I remember, before, when they did the imagaing and everything to see her, everything was normal...Why in the happiest day of our life do we receive worst news, 'the kid is born with a condition' and there's nothing that you can do about it. That just broke me."

Catch Vera's comments below:

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Marlon Vera's daughter Ana Paula has since undergone surgery to help her smile

Marlon Vera thanks his daughter Ana Paula for everything that he has achieved in his life so far. 'Chito' drastically improved himself after Paula's birth, keen to give her a comfortable life.

Vera also set up a GoFundMe page to support the surgery that would help his daughter smile. Almost half of the total cost of $43,500 was donated by the MMA community. While Ana Paula was originally scheduled to undergo the procedure in the summer of 2018, it was postponed until after she finished first grade.

'Chito' is scheduled to challenge bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley in this weekend's UFC 299 event. The pair previously fought in August 2020 when Vera defeated O'Malley via first-round TKO. However, O'Malley has maintained a stance that the win was a fluke.