Marlon “Chito” Vera and veteran Canadian contender Aiemann Zahabi squared off in a pivotal bantamweight clash on Saturday night at UFC Vancouver, a matchup that pitted relentless forward pressure against calculated precision in front of an electric home-country crowd.
Vera (23-10-1) returned to action after more than a year away, following back-to-back losses in 2024 to Sean O’Malley and Deiveson Figueiredo. A veteran since his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America Season 1 in 2014, “Chito” once put together a standout winning streak that included victories over Davey Grant, Frankie Edgar, Rob Font, and Dominick Cruz before going 3-1 in his last four fights.
Zahabi (13-2) entered the bout riding an impressive six-fight win streak, with notable victories over Aoriqileng, Javid Basharat, Pedro Munhoz, and former champion José Aldo. A win over Vera had the potential to propel the #9 ranked bantamweight into the top five and put him firmly in the title conversation.
Round 1 – Both men came out patient in Round 1, trading kicks and staying defensive. Zahabi started to find more success with his jab as the round wore on, rushing in with more confidence and forcing Chito to the cage. The round continued at a low volume pace, with an injury to Vera’s finger being highlighted on the replay.
Round 2 – Zahabi came out using more kicks, one of which was caught and used to mount some offense for Vera. The Canadian started to push into boxing range more often, swinging big hooks when crashing in. Vera sat Zahabi down with a big jab, but Vera went to grab instead of following up with strikes, allowing him to escape.
Vera started to push forward and land combinations, mixing to the body with success. Zahabi recovered well and started landing in the final minute of the round, ripping some nice knees and big 1-2s.
Round 3 – Vera started Round 3 with a front kick, returned by a knee from the Canadian. Vera then started to open up with his hands and threw some short combinations in the pocket, which were also returned by a swarming Zahabi, who found a lot of success with his blitzes to this point.
Both men stayed tactical with their entries and found success when throwing, but Zahabi landed some solid leg kicks. As the final seconds ticked down, both men started brawling in the center of the cage, landing big punches as the bell rang.
Aiemann Zahabi makes it seven wins in a row and moves up to the T7 of the bantamweight division.
Official Result: Aiemann Zahabi def. Marlon Vera via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
