Marlon Vera and David Martinez meet in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 268 Saturday at Arena CDMX in Mexico City. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Last event’s results: 2-4
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UFC main cards, 2026: 13-9
Marlon Vera vs. David Martinez UFC Fight Night 268 preview
Vera (23-11-1 MMA, 15-10 UFC) comes in on a three-fight skid. “Chito” has dropped consecutive decisions to Sean O’Malley, Deiveson Figueiredo and Aiemann Zahabi – all top-tier competition. The Ecuador native’s last win was a decision over Pedro Munhoz in August 2023.
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Martinez (13-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has quickly impressed just two fights in to his UFC run. In his debut, he stopped Saimon Oliveira in the first round last March, and then won a unanimous decision over veteran Rob Font in September. Overall, the 27-year-old is on a nine-fight winning streak.
Marlon Vera vs. David Martinez UFC Fight Night 268 expert pick, prediction
The co-main event in Mexico City features a potential crossroads fight at bantamweight between Marlon Vera and David Martinez.
Martinez has been passing every test thrown his way thus far, but Vera is an undeniable step up for the “Black Spartan.” That said, Vera’s inconsistencies as a competitor have only grown stronger in recent years.
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Vera has long been a slow-starting opportunist, but the Ecuadorian’s recent inactivity in fights has made poor Jason Parillo pull out whatever remaining hair he has left. But jokes about one of my favorite coaches aside, having faith in Vera to pull the trigger has become a real problem.
Add in the fact that Vera will be facing a fast and powerful fleet-of-foot fighter who will likely frustrate him, and I can’t help but side with Martinez to stick and move his way to a competitive but clear win on the scorecards.
Marlon Vera vs. David Martinez UFC Fight Night 268 odds
The oddsmakers and the public see the younger fighter as a comfortable favorite, listing Martinez -310 and Vera +240 via FanDuel.
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Marlon Vera vs. David Martinez UFC Fight Night 268 start time, how to watch
Vera and Martinez are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 10:10 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Mexico City: Marlon Vera vs. David Martinez prediction, start time