UFC bantamweight and rising star Marlon Vera has now become a household name for hardcore MMA fans. However, this didn’t happen through one bout overnight. The 30-year-old produces highlight-worthy finishes in his Octagon outings while staying equally humble and calm outside the cage.
From a very young age, ‘Chito‘ liked to involve himself in a lot of street fights. Despite claiming he wasn’t very good at it, Marlon still kept going for it over and over for the thrill. He was trying to get in a fistfight “pretty much every week.” Eventually, his life took a turn when he started watching UFC. As soon as he saw GSP, Vera told himself “when I grow up, I want to be like that and, you know, I’m doing a pretty good job.”
Way before making his UC debut, Vera had initially participated in The Ultimate Fighter’s Latin America season. However, he was forced out of the semifinals due to a skin infection.
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In an exclusive interview with News18.com, Vera opened up on the reason behind his nickname. He shared, “Really that’s just because my family called me like that since I was a little kid. So there’s not really like, a meaning behind it. It was hard for me to pronounce my name when I was a kid so this was sort of a cheat code because I couldn’t pronounce my name.”
Marlon’s nickname is ‘Chito‘ a Spanish colloquialism that essentially means “shush.” The 30-year-old has quite lived up to his nickname as he has silenced his recent opponents by knocking them out in spectacular ways. As of March 2023, Vera is on a 4-fight win streak.
What is the nationality and religion of Marlon Vera?
‘Chito’ was born in Ecuador in a town named Chone. After having a fair share of street fights as a teenager, a young Marlon started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the ripe age of 16 in his newly-adopted hometown of Guayaquil. He now holds a black belt in the discipline. Throughout his journey as an MMA fighter, Vera has always mentioned that feeding his family is the sole reason he fights.
In terms of religion, The future title challenger doesn’t seem to post or discuss it on his social media. However, as per Statista, Roman Catholicism is the most common religious affiliation in Ecuador. Considering how many years Chito spent in his home country before moving to the States, one can assume that perhaps Marlon may be a practicing Catholic. The Ecuadorian grew up with an older sister, a brother, and one cousin.
Chito currently lives with his wife María Paulina Escobar in Irvine, California. Together they have three children. Vera trains under the guidance of Jason Parillo, who has taught the likes of Michael Bisping and Cris Cyborg. The bantamweight performs most of his training at RVCA Training Center in Costa Mesa. On his Instagram, he is often found training alongside close friend and former UFC middleweight champ Luke Rockhold.