The next time around for “Chito” is Saturday night against fellow bantamweight contender Pedro Munhoz. Despite dropping the split decision nod to Sandhagen, Vera remains in the top ten at number six, and with a win against Munhoz, he could be in the immediate title picture, especially if headliner Sean O’Malley, who Vera beat in 2020, defeats Aljamain Sterling for the belt. That’s motivation, though chasing another win always does the trick to get Vera amped up.
Order UFC 292: Sterling vs O’Malley
“I feel like a win puts you in the conversation for anything,” he said. “And if we talk about O’Malley fighting for the belt the same day, he has a win over one guy (Petr Yan) and is fighting for the belt. He has a no contest against Pedro Munhoz to earn a number one spot. So, at the end of the day, you’ve got to win. That’s all you need.”
For Vera, it is more than winning, though. It’s getting the bad taste out of his mouth from a loss to Sandhagen where he simply didn’t look like the same fighter who won his previous four bouts over Davey Grant, Frankie Edgar, Rob Font and Dominick Cruz.
