A 27-year-old Peruvian fighter, Rodrigo Vera, wants to continue to show his country that anything is possible.
There are not a ton of Peruvian MMA fighters, especially at the highest levels of the sport, so you should pay attention when a bright prospect comes along. Vera (14-1-1) is one of those fighters.
“El Gato Loco” is coming off the best year of his career. In May, he put Nicolas Varela to sleep in the second round of FFC 50: Basurto vs. Juarez to win the FFC (Fusion Fighting Championship) bantamweight championship.
Vera vs. Varela – FFC 50 pic.twitter.com/V444O1n8QD
— CFU (@justantherburn) December 19, 2022
Vera returned to action four months later and headlined his first FFC card as a champion. He faced Jonathan Gabriel Martinez and won a hard-fought decision.
Vera was pleased with his performance.
“My performance was what I hoped for. I trained very hard for that one, and my opponent was really good in all areas — especially in striking,” Vera told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview. “I had to check the gameplan a lot to deal with his fighting style. In the end, I decided to use my wrestling and grappling control, and it worked pretty well.”
“Being the champion makes me feel more hungry to accomplish more goals. There are a lot of wars that I must go through. Nothing has changed; I’m the same guy chasing a crazy dream.”
Vera returns to action on January 28 against highly touted Brazilian prospect Rickson Zenidim at FFC 57: Vera vs. Zenidim, which could get him to the next level with a win.
Vera knows he is knocking on the door of a major promotion, and with the lack of Pervuan fighters, he takes it with responsibility.
“Well, I think it’s a great responsibility [to be a bright Peruvian prospect] because I will show people behind me that things can happen if you do the hard work,” Vera said. “I’m proud of myself, but the most important thing for me is enjoying the journey. Keep going forward, guys!”
