Marlon “Chito” Vera decided not to take a fight on short notice against a rising contender.

Vera is as tough as they come at bantamweight, but he wants to make sure he has a proper camp before returning to the octagon. Having lost his last two bouts, it’s hard to blame “Chito” for being cautious.

This is especially true when the offered opponent was Song Yadong.

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Marlon Vera appeared in “The Ariel Helwani Show” and revealed that he had turned down an offer to fight on short notice.

“I actually got called up two weeks ago for a (fight) on short notice and I had like four weeks to make weight. I was like, you know what? I’ll do it in January or February.”

When asked who the opponent was, Vera had no problem revealing that he was a rising contender.

“It was Song Yadong in Las Vegas at the Apex, and I love it. I had five rounds to tire him out and kick his butt, but then I said, ‘Okay, don’t get excited again because it’s so easy to get excited.'” when you run 13 miles every two weeks.”

Yadong has gone 5-2 in his last seven starts. The two losses were against Cory Sandhagen and Petr Yan. He is still a threat at 135 pounds.

One wonders if the UFC will try to reschedule this one for 2025.

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