Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon Vera will be back in action when the UFC heads to Des Moines, Iowa this this May.
Vera (23-10-1) will face off against Mario Bautista (15-2) at the Fight Night event, scheduled for May 3, 2025 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
News of the booking was first reported by Tuck Talks MMA on social media, and confirmed by Baustista.
“Chito” Vera started 2024 on a high note, booked into a fight for the UFC bantamweight title against rival and then-champ Sean O’Malley at UFC 299. That came off a single win over Pedro Munhoz, though prior to a split decision loss to Cory Sandhagen, Vera had notched wins against Frankie Edgar, Dominick Cruz, and Rob Font as part of a four-fight win streak.
Still, the high note turned sour when Vera lost to O’Malley in a lacklustre showing, then lost a second decision to Deiveson Figueiredo last August.
He’ll attempt to turn things around against Mario Bautista, who is red-hot at the moment riding a seven fight win streak inside the octagon. Most recently, Bautista earned a win over former featherweight champ Jose Aldo.
Marlon Vera is ranked #7, and Bautista #10 in the UFC bantamweight division currently.
UFC Des Moines has just a handful of fights reported for it thus far. Those are:
- Park Jun-yong vs. Ismail Naurdiev
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman
- Serghei Spivac vs. Shamil Gaziev
- Marlon Vera vs. Mario Bautista
