Marlon Vera reacts to 'lil' bump in the road' loss to Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ESPN 43

Marlon Vera came up short in the UFC on ESPN 43 main event, but appears to be taking the loss in stride.

Vera (20-8-1 MMA, 14-7 UFC) lost to Cory Sandhagen in a key bantamweight bout at AT&T Center in San Antonio. Although the official result was somehow a split decision, the bout was a masterful performance by Sandhagen (16-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC), who now finds himself hunting for No. 1 contender status.

“Chito” isn’t taking the loss too hard, though, and vows to get right back on track after his four-fight win streak was halted Saturday evening.

“Lil bump in the road, it’s only over if I decide it,” Vera wrote on Instagram. “And we far from that. Be back soon.”

During his post-fight interview in the cage, Vera made no excuses for his performance while giving Sandhagen props.

“I was as ready as I can get, I was feeling good during training, and I just couldn’t get it started,” Vera told Michael Bisping. “This one is on me. No excuses.”

Vera entered as a winner of his four previous bouts, which included stoppages of former champions Dominick Cruz and Frankie Edgar. Unanimous decision wins over Davey Grant and Rob Font were also a part of Vera’s best stretch since a five-fight winning streak from 2018-19.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.