Vera Opens Up On Mental Health During UFC Skid

Marlon Vera said his current four-fight losing streak has forced him to confront mental health struggles unlike anything he has faced in his career.

The former bantamweight title challenger, who dropped out of the divisional Top 15 after consecutive losses following his UFC 299 defeat to Sean O'Malley, told The Ariel Helwani Show that the skid has been deeply difficult. "It's hard, man. It's depressing. It hits you where it matters the most," Vera said, per BJPenn.com. "You put so much into it. You're trying so hard and you fail. Then you say, 'OK, let's get back on the horse. I'm a tough person. I've got to keep my chin high.' And then you fail again, and you fail again."

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Vera Questions Everything After Unprecedented Struggles

Vera admitted the repeated setbacks pushed him to a breaking point. "You get to the point where it's like, 'OK, I'm not ever going to succeed again. This is just not working for me,'" he continued. "Then you go into yourself and you're like, 'What's wrong? What am I doing wrong?'"

The Ecuadorian has not won back-to-back fights since 2022, and his current skid represents the longest stretch of losses in his UFC tenure by a significant margin. He has reportedly been working with Raul Rosas Jr. and a new team in preparation for his turnaround attempt.

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Vera faces Charles Jourdain at UFC 331 later this month on a card headlined by a flyweight title rematch between champion Joshua Van and former titleholder Alexandre Pantoja. A win could move him back into the bantamweight Top 15.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Marlon Vera opens up on mental health issues amidst four-fight UFC skid