President of Ecuador Congratulates Marlon “Chito” Vera on win over Sean O’Malley
Marlon “Chito” Vera has been getting a lot of love after defeating O’Malley and became the first fighter to defeat the unbeaten rising star.
Vera picked up arguably the biggest win of his MMA career. Sean O’Malley came into the fight riding one of the biggest hype trains in recent UFC history.
Marlon stole the hype and has received congratulations from fans, followers, and celebrities.
Even the president of his home country Ecuador took time to congratulate the UFC star.
On Sunday, Ecuadorian president Lenin Moreno took to Twitter to send a message to “Chito.”
“¡Felicidades @chitoveraUFC! Bien merecida tu victoria. Tu triunfo hace más grande al Ecuador.”
“Congratulations, @ChitoVeraUFC! Well deserved victory. Your triumph makes Ecuador bigger,” president Moreno wrote in Spanish.
Vera took credit for the ankle injury that ultimately led to the end of the fight. Vera attacked O’Malley’s legs early in the fight and finished the fight with ground-and-pound.
“I see myself as a very good kicker,” Vera told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC 252. “That’s how I started my career, I was throwing a lot of kicks back in the day. Now I’m putting it together, my boxing and everything.
“But now, watching the video, I threw a hard calf kick and, after I threw a calf kick, his nerve just – (expletive) happens, the same way Chandler got with Primus, my boy Alex Perez beat Formiga. He kicked me really hard in the leg, but my shin is stronger than his.”
The stoppage was questioned by some including O’Malley’s team complaining the fight was stopped early. Vera responded to those claims.
When I landed the second elbow, he was making noises,” Vera said. “He was out and then when Herb Dean got in the middle, you can see his head bounce back. I saw his corner saying ‘no that was too early,’ we made eye contact, and I said you know that ‘expletive’ wasn’t early and the guy was pretty quiet all of a sudden. That guy was talking (expletive) while we were getting ready to walk to the cage.”
“I believe I’m a solid top 10 (fighter),” Vera said. “I’ve been making damage in the division. What happened in the last fight (Yadong) got me pretty upset, pretty angry and actually made me do what I did tonight. I wasn’t happy, I was pushing myself a little harder. I was being hard on myself. I wasn’t giving myself a vacation, more cheat days. I was like, ‘It’s time to dig deep,’ and that’s when I find myself even better, and I came to this fight with a mission.”
Vera’s performance put him back in the win column. Who is next for Chito?
