The UFC’s return to Mexico City has added a battle between ranked bantamweights.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Marlon Vera faces David Martinez at UFC Mexico. The event takes place Feb. 28 at Arena CDMX and streams on Paramount+.
Eurosport NL was first to report the booking.
Vera looks to right the ship as he enters the bout on a three-fight losing streak. After bouncing back with a decision win over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292 in August 2023, “Chito”
faced Sean O’Malley for the bantamweight title at UFC 299 in March 2024, dropping a unanimous decision. Since then, Vera dropped decisions to Deiveson Figueiredo and — most recently — Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Vancouver this past October.
Martinez already finds himself in the bantamweight rankings after just two octagon appearances. The Contender Series alum delivered a first-round knockout against Saimon Oliveira in his UFC debut, but took a big short notice opportunity in his sophomore outing at Noche UFC, picking up an impressive decision victory over Rob Font this past September.
UFC Mexico is headlined by a flyweight matchup between former champion Brandon Moreno and Asu Almabayev.
