‘Chito’ Calls for 5-Round Rematch Against Aldo, ‘Would Love To Kick His Ass’

Things weren’t looking too great for the tough and tenacious bantamweight Marlon Vera early into his main event debut against Rob Font at UFC Vegas 53. Font kicked off the fight with some impressive striking volume and never really let up on that metric.

But by round three it became clear that Vera was the one landing the harder punches and kicks, turning Font’s face into a bloody mess and knocking him down in rounds three, four, and five (watch the highlights here).

Vera would take the fight 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46 in a refreshing display of Nevada judging competence (one fight after the commission screwed Jake Collier out of his win against Andrei Arlovski in the co-main).

What’s next for “Chito,” who has quickly become a fan favorite and legit contender at 135 pounds? If he has his way, he’d like a five round rematch against Jose Aldo.

“I would love to fight Aldo again, and especially in a five-rounder,” Vera said at the UFC Vegas 53 post-fight press conference. “Just because he declined a five-rounder when we fought last December. I would love to kick his ass, and if we get to match again, I will finish again. I guarantee that.”

Aldo defeated Vera 29-28 on all three judges’ scorecards at UFC Vegas 17 back in December 2020. All three judges gave the former featherweight champion the first and third rounds.

While Vera may need to work on his slow starts based on past fights, two extra rounds certainly makes a rematch between the two more intriguing. For now, though, Aldo is focused on trying to secure a bantamweight title shot against Aljamain Sterling.

If the UFC goes with its current plan of putting Sterling against former bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw, Ado vs. Vera 2 sounds pretty great to us!