Marlon Vera-Mario Bautista Matchup Set for May UFC Des Moines Event

Iowan UFC fans will be treated to some great bantamweight action this May.

The news first coming from social media user TuckTalksMMA on Friday, Marlon Vera (23-10-1) and Mario Bautista (15-2) will throw down in Des Moines on May 3. The top-ranked 135ers will compete inside of the Wells Fargo Arena, where they will serve as the co-main attraction to Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo. The pairing at this current unnumbered UFC Fight Night show has since been confirmed by Bautista on Instagram.

2024 was a tough year for Vera, who did vie for the bantamweight strap but could not win it. After coming up short in his rematch to Sean O'Malley, Vera went on to drop a decision to Figueiredo. Before those setbacks—just his second career losing streak—“Chito” had beaten names like Frankie Edgar, Rob Font and Pedro Munhoz to keep himself anchored among the elite of the 135-pound ranks.

While Vera has struggled as of late, Bautista comes into this battle with plenty of momentum behind him. 2024 proved to be a banner year for the MMA Lab export, as he picked up wins on the scorecards over Ricky Simon and Jose Aldo to vault himself into the rankings. Winner of seven straight, Bautista has not tasted defeat since Trevin Jones punched him out in 2021.

UFC Des Moines, an event still with no numbered designation, will go down at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on May 3. Beyond Sandhagen-Figueiredo and Vera-Bautista, the UFC has added an additional high-stakes bantamweight scrap to the event as Yana Santos collides with Miesha Tate. Additionally, Marina Rodriguez will face Gillian Robertson at 115 pounds, while Daniel Rodriguez and Santiago Ponzinibbio will brawl it out in a potential welterweight thriller.