“Chito” is changing things up.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight title challenger Marlon Vera returns to action against rising contender Charles Jourdain at UFC 331 later this month (Sat., Sept. 19, 2026) inside Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
Vera is currently riding the first four-fight losing streak of his professional career, dropping consecutive decisions to Sean O’Malley, Deiveson Figueiredo, Aiemann Zahabi and, most recently, David Martinez.
“Chito” has not
won a fight since Aug. 2023, when he defeated Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision at UFC 292.
Something had to change.
Ahead of his pivotal UFC 331 return, Vera made the emotional decision to part ways with his longtime head coach, Jason Parillo.
“After the fight in Mexico, we went back to training, and I was trying to figure out what I needed — what wasn’t allowing me to win these close decisions,” Vera told Yahoo! Sports. “It was a hard decision because we didn’t have a problem [with each other]. Nothing bad happened.”
“I was asking myself what I could do moving forward to kill this bad streak and get back into the win column. I didn’t want to let my career get to the very end and then question myself: ‘What would have happened if I made a change?’”
There was no dramatic falling out between Vera and Parillo. Instead, “Chito” felt he owed it to himself to try something different before reaching the final stage of his career.
“Making changes is hard,” Vera added. “You don’t want to tell people you love or who have a big spot in your heart, ‘Hey, I’m going to move forward for now and see what I can do.’ It was a hard decision, but all I can do is try.”
Vera began working with Parillo in 2018, and the respected striking coach helped guide him through the most successful period of his career. Their partnership included knockout victories over O’Malley, Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz (watch highlights), eventually culminating in Vera challenging O’Malley for the Bantamweight championship at UFC 299.
Unfortunately, the results have completely dried up since then.
While Vera remains one of the most durable fighters on the entire UFC roster — he has never been stopped in 36 professional appearances — his notoriously slow starts and inconsistent offensive output have repeatedly cost him on the judges’ scorecards.
The 33-year-old is now training full-time alongside 21-year-old Bantamweight prospect Raul Rosas Jr. The team is using Vera’s personal gym as its headquarters, while Rosas’ father is overseeing the camp and organizing his training schedule.
Vera will attempt to prove the drastic change was worthwhile when he faces Jourdain, who has won three consecutive fights since dropping to Bantamweight.
So, while “Chito” has a new team and a fresh approach, UFC certainly didn’t give him a soft landing.
With a fifth consecutive loss potentially putting his UFC future in jeopardy, Vera needs this one badly.
See who else is fighting on UFC 331 here.
