Marlon Vera made difficult change to avoid one regret at end of UFC career

Marlon Vera has ended his long-standing partnership with striking coach Jason Parillo as he attempts to reverse a four-fight losing streak in the UFC. The split was amicable—the two worked together since 2018 without conflict—but Vera felt a change was necessary to reignite his career.

"I was trying to figure out what I need, what is not getting me to win these close decisions," Vera told commentator Ariel Helwani. "It was a pretty hard decision because we didn't have a problem or nothing bad happened. I was just like, what can I do moving forward to give myself a chance to kill this bad streak? And I just told myself, 'I don't want my career to go to the very end and then question what if I had made a change.'"

Vera (23-12-1) has now joined the training camp of fellow UFC bantamweight Raul Rosas Jr., using his own gym as headquarters for the merged team. The setup includes Rosas Jr.'s father in a management role and features specialized coaches in wrestling and kickboxing, including both experienced Russian-trained trainers and Vera's longtime wrestling and striking mentors whom he brought back.

The former title challenger is scheduled to face Charles Jourdain (18-8) on September 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles at UFC 331. Vera hopes the coaching change and new training environment will give him the edge needed to snap his extended skid and get back into title contention in the bantamweight division.