LOS ANGELES – Marlon Vera met the media Saturday after his win over Charles Jourdain at UFC 331.
Vera (24-12-1 MMA, 16-11 UFC) pulled off one of the most critical wins of his career when he put Jourdain (18-9-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) away with a third-round TKO to close out the prelims at Crypto.com Arena.
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Vera came into the fight with four straight losses and five setbacks in his past six fights – all by decision. The four-fight skid started with a loss to then-bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley in a title fight at UFC 299 in March 2024. Vera got his hand raised for the first time in more than three years.
Vera highlights, UFC 331
Vera key quotes, UFC 331
“It’s not a secret. It’s been a long time just falling short. You lose two in a row, it’s part of the game. Then when I went and faced Zahabi, I finally woke up. I felt that I won – but split decision loss. I felt like I was in a hole. It was like a nightmare. I couldn’t get out of there. Then I went to Mexico City and I fell short again, and it’s just like every wall around me is just falling on top of me.”
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“The whole camp was amazing, but walking into the locker room, warming up, there was a lot of demons just knocking on the door and kicking the door, and I was just like, ‘F*ck you, man. I’ve got to feed my family.’ I want to keep my job. I’m healthy. I feel strong. Nothing has changed in that matter. I was just making myself a lot of questions.”
“I just told myself I’m going to give myself a chance to to see what I can do with a different look. Win, lose or draw, I have never been the guy that goes and points fingers and talks sh*t. Tonight, I was just literally fighting for a plate of food for my family and I was doing that because with another loss tonight, I wouldn’t be able to handle that as a man. … I just felt like my life depended on it, and moving forward, I feel the changes worked mentally. I was more creative, I was more in the moment and I felt great.”
Vera post-fight interview, UFC 331
See the video above, and don’t miss the photo gallery below
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: With new look, Marlon Vera exorcised some demons at UFC 331
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