Marlon Vera shrugs off Cory Sandhagen's criticism: 'He needs to convince himself of being OK to win'

COSTA MESA, Calif. – Marlon Vera plans on shutting Cory Sandhagen’s lights out.

Vera (22-7-1 MMA, 14-6 UFC) faces Sandhagen (15-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 43 headliner on March 25 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Sandhagen said Vera’s style of winning is not reliable, pointing to his numerous come-from-behind wins. But Vera says regardless of how the fight pans out, Sandhagen will suffer the same fate as his past opponents.

“He needs to convince himself of being OK to win,” Vera told MMA Junkie. “I don’t need to say anything about him to think I’m going to win. I’m going to win because I’m working this hard. So, if he thinks my style is not reliable or whatever he thinks, that’s on him. He’s going to wake up and be like, ‘F*ck, I got caught.’ But you didn’t get caught, you got knocked the f*ck out or you got submitted.”

He continued, “I’m a fighter. I’m gonna fight my ass off in every position. I’m not gonna wrestle you, I’m not gonna strike you, I’m not gonna jiu-jitsu you, I’m gonna fight you. Whatever he thinks about my style, you still got to face me. You still got to go through me. I got 20 minutes (25) to figure it out and put you out.”

Vera was down on the judges’ scorecards when he rallied to knock out both Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz. The 30-year-old Ecuadorian fighter attributes his ability to continuously get his hand raised to his drive.

“I’m always trying to just get better and keep that hunger in me,” Vera added. “When I go into these fights, I always see something. I just want it way more than anybody else, and that’s what’s giving me success, because I’m always looking forward to get it done.”

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