Following his big win over ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley in the co main event for UFC 252, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, caught up with Michael Bisping on his podcast to talk about the win, and to see what’s next for him as he attempts to climb the bantamweight rankings and earn himself a title shot in the near future.
“Jimmie Rivera has to be next,” Chito told Bisping. “We were supposed to fight the eighth of this month, and then when O’Malley fought Eddie Wineland, the UFC was like wait a minute, O’Malley’s calling out (Chito Vera) every chance he gets, so they gave him what he wanted, and now I’m gonna call out somebody that’s ranked higher. I will say this as personal advice, (O’Malley’s) an idiot for calling out somebody outside the rankings. He took my spot when they robbed me against Song Yadong, they gave him my rank, I was like ‘okay cool, now I’m gonna work my way back.’ Now that I beat him, I’m going to take his spot and I believe I might go a little higher because of all the hype. It’s about hype. Whoever makes the rankings – it’s a popularity contest. If you beat the golden pony like that, you give me some love in the rankings, and then Jimmie Rivera should be next.”
Both Rivera and Vera picked up wins within a month of each other, so the timetables for their next fight should align them for a matchup in the near future.
Source: Michael Bisping Podcast
