Former bantamweight title challenger Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera hasn’t won a fight since his unanimous decision loss to Sean O’Malley in March 2024. In a bid to stop his losing streak, the 32-year-old spent over a year on the sidelines sharpening his skills. However, when he showed up for UFC Fight Night: de Ridder vs. Allen in Vancouver to face Canada’s Aiemann Zahabi, things didn’t go as planned for the Ecuadorian fighter.

The Team Oyama member dropped a close split decision to Aiemann Zahabi, which he feels should have gone his way. Judges Michael Bell and Jake Maxim scored the fight 29-28, 29-28 for Zahabi, while Sal D’Amato gave it to Vera with 28-29. Days after the bout, Vera appeared in an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, where he revealed what was going through his head moments after the bout came to a close. 

Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera is grateful to UFC security

“When the fight [ended], I was like, ‘I won back. I took the decision,’” Vera told Helwani when asked about his thoughts after the bout. However, upon hearing it was a split decision, his optimism turned to dread. “When they say a split decision, I went, ‘Oh, no.’ And I literally say word for word, ‘Please God, give me the opportunity to advance,’” Vera continued. “That’s all I [said] in my mind when I close my eyes.”

That moment of hope quickly gave way to rage. “When they say his name, I f—king say, ‘F—k everybody.’ And I just f—king… I was pissed. I was f—king pissed. Thank God, Elliott, the UFC security guy. It’s someone that I love and respect, and he’s a very cool guy. Thank God he was the man [at] that moment because if I [had] encountered a judge, I would have slapped the motherf—ker. I’m glad he was there,” Vera recalled.

Unable to take out his frustration on the judges, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera turned it inward. “I stopped by medical. I was pissed off. They took my wraps, and I literally [walked] straight to the car, [went] to the hotel, [sat] on the ground for quite a bit,” he said. But eventually, calm returned as reality set in. “Okay, it’s in the past. It’s [a] done deal. There’s nothing to do about it,” Vera claimed he realized after some time.

He admitted during the interview that he had a choice: he could “cry, complain, [and make] excuses” or “can say, ‘F—k it. I’m going to do it.’” Choosing resilience over regret, Vera decided to keep pushing forward. “It’s all forward from now on.” Yet, deep down, he still can’t shake the feeling that he was robbed.

‘Chito’ Vera accused the judges of robbery

Before making his disdain clear for the judges during his chat with Helwani, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera didn’t hold back his frustration about the defeat. The former UFC bantamweight title challenger took to social media soon after the fight and expressed his frustration. “Sometimes things can get really dark,” he wrote. 

“But not giving up will get you light. Don’t get it twisted, I won tonight, we got robbed in Canada.” However, this wasn’t the end of his claims, as he later doubled down in another post. “Today I won and the judges robbed me.” Notably, while Vera had his moments in the second round of the fight, he couldn’t maintain his pace in the final round, leading to the loss. 

Having said that, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera clearly doesn’t believe he deserved the disappointed of losing at UFC Vancouver; that he, in fact, didn’t lose. However, what do you think? Do you agree with Vera, or is he wrong?