[brid video=”893229″ player=”25478″ title=”UFC%20268%20Media%20Day%20Marlon%20Vera” duration=”982″ description=”Marlon Vera speaks to media ahead of his UFC 268 main card opening bout against Frankie Edgar.” uploaddate=”2021-11-03″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19027/thumb/” contenturl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19027/sd/893229.mp4″]
Marlon Vera is not expecting Frankie Edgar — a fighter who has logged the most minutes in Octagon history — to be able to go the distance in their main card opening matchup at UFC 268 on Saturday night.
While speaking to the media during his Wednesday press conference, to talk about his fight inside Madison Square Garden on Nov. 6, “Chito” was asked if Edgar’s (24-9-1) extensive history of high-level battles and a record amount of Octagon time have had a major effect on his once legendary durability.
Although Vera (19-7-1) admits the 40-year-old has taken a great deal of damage over his UFC career, he can’t assume the New Jersey native can be had with one good punch. And if he were to rely on Edgar’s diminished durability to show itself on fight night, he could end up being handed a loss by the former lightweight champion. However, he still expects the fight to be decided without the assistance of the judge’s scorecards.
Marlon Vera expects to finish Frankie Edgar at UFC 268
“He’s been on both sides. He has all the time [in the Octagon] and all the damage. At the end of the day, I cannot expect him to just fall with one punch. If I go with that mental game, he might take it, and then what? Then you lost because your weapon, one punch, didn’t work,” Vera said. “I see this fight playing out in my head like, gritty, bloody, hard and I’m ready for that. I know I can be there. I’m not worried about that. Saturday night you guys will see a better me. And I’ll say it again, he will go in three rounds.”
Edgar has lost four of his last six and suffered the first, second, and third knockout losses of his career in that time.
The thirteenth-ranked Vera and eighth-ranked Edgar will open the main card pay-per-view portion of UFC 268 on Saturday. The US $69.99 event will air exclusively on streaming service ESPN+ and kicks off at 10 pm ET. The opening preliminary portion of the card will begin at 6 pm and air on ESPN and ESPN+.
