“Pentown” has a pivotal bantamweight showdown on the way this summer.
UFC Broadcast Partner ESPN Late Monday, citing UFC president Dana White, it was reported that former pair champion Henry Cejudo and challenger Marlon Vera will meet Aug. 19 at UFC 292 from Boston’s TD Garden. Contracts are not signed, but verbal agreements are valid on both sides.
A person familiar with the booking later confirmed the news to MMA Junkie.
Sejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC), 36, is coming off a failed bid to regain the 135-pound division title last month at UFC 288, where he lost a split decision to champ Aljamain Sterling. This was Cejudo’s first fight after a three-year retirement.
Vera (22-8-1 MMA, 14-7 UFC), 30, halted the momentum of a four-fight winning streak in his last bout last March, when he dropped a split decision to Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ESPN 43. Prior to that, “Chito” was working his way towards a potential title shot with straight wins over Davey Grant, Frankie Edgar, Rob Font and Dominick Cruz. His victories over Edgar and Cruz were fierce knockouts.
Cejudo and Sandhagen are ranked 6 and 7 respectively in the latest USA TODAY Sports / MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings.
UFC 292 headlines the bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Sterling, who is looking for a fourth straight defense of his belt.
Here is the updated UFC 292 lineup:
- Champion Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley – for the Bantamweight Title
- Champion Zhang Weili vs. Amanda Lemos – for the Strawweight Championship
- Henry Cejudo vs. Marlon Vera
- Brad Tavares vs. Chris Weidman
- Mario Bautista vs Cody Garbrandt
- Gerald Mearschaert vs. Andrei Petroski
- Marina Moroz vs. Karen Silva
- Ian Machado vs Jeff Neal
- Andrea Lee vs. Natalia Silva
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie Event Center for UFC 292.
Be sure to visit MMA Junkie Instagram page f Youtube A channel to discuss this and more content with MMA fans.