Over the weekend at UFC Vegas 29, we saw the rematch between Marlon “Chito” Vera (17-7-1) and Davey Grant (13-5). The two bantamweight contenders first met back in 2016 where Davey Grant was able to pick up the unanimous decision victory.
Despite having won the first fight and won three straight entering UFC Vegas 29, Davey Grant was the betting underdog on Saturday night. That was because Chito Vera has been really taking off over the last few years.
Since that loss to Davey Grant back in 2016, Vera had gone 9-4 in thirteen fights. At UFC 252, Vera got his highlight victory when he stopped the hype train of Suga Sean O’Malley by stopping him in the first round.
Back in December, Vera fought Jose Aldo and it was an incredibly competitive fight, however, Aldo got the victory. The rematch between Vera and Grant at UFC Vegas 29 didn’t disappoint as the two men took home Fight of The Night honors.
It was a back-and-forth battle on Saturday night. However, Chito Vera was just always one step ahead of Davey Grant. A few times it looked like Chito could get the finish, but Grant was all heart and fought to the final bell at UFC Vegas 29. Ultimately, all three judges gave the fight to Chito Vera.
UFC looking at Vera – Cruz?
So, where does former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (23-3) fit into all of this? Well, after the fight was over, Vera said that he would love to fight Dominick Cruz next. Cruz was on the broadcast calling the fights on Saturday night.
The former champion last fought back at UFC 259 when he defeated Casey Kenney by Split Decision. It was a big fight for Cruz who showed that he wasn’t done competing yet and he didn’t care about fighting up and coming contenders.
After Saturday’s win, Vera will still likely be on the back side of the top fifteen in the UFC’s rankings. Dominick Cruz is ranked inside the top ten, and my guess is that he will look for a top-tier opponent in his next fight. Chito Vera is great, but I think we will likely see him fighting someone else.