Finishing the Fight: UFC 252

Marlon Vera, UFC 252 weigh-in Credit: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press

Marlon “Chito” Vera (17-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC)

Total Number of Pro MMA Finishes: 16

Via KO/TKO: 6

Via Submission: 10

Total Number of UFC Finishes: 8

Via KO/TKO: 4

(Andre Ewell, Frankie Saenz, Wuliji Buren, Brad Pickett)

Via Submission: 4

(Nohelin Hernandez, Guido Cannetti, Brian Kelleher, Roman Salazar)

Marlon Chito Vera is a high-level grappler. Because of this, often Marlon’s opponents try their hardest to keep the fight on the feet away from his strengths. Vera’s striking is impressive too though, with fast combinations that mix in all sorts of strikes. Vera’s most recent TKO finish over Andre Ewell was also his most impressive finish. Vera let lose a barrage of strikes on the feet, pinning his opponent’s back to the cage, before finally dropping him and raining down strikes from the top to force the referee to stop the fight. The stoppage also earned Chito a Performance of the Night bonus.

Marlon’s submission win over Brian Kelleher was such a beautiful one because it wasn’t the first submission he went for. Marlon first looked for a kimura shoulder lock before going to the ground and quickly transitioning to an armbar. This performance was one of the cleaner submissions that you’ll see and thanks to the lack of sweat, sank in very fast.

Marlon is more than willing to throw vicious strikes with his opponent and is more than competent with these weapons. Most of Marlons TKO and KO finishes involve the fight going to the ground in some way.