UFC Fight Night 262 results: Aiemann Zahabi wins thin split decision over Marlon Vera

Aiemann Zahabi kept his winning streak alive in a close battle against Marlon Vera.

The fun bantamweight scrap took place on the main card of UFC Fight Night 262 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. Throughout the fight Zahabi (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) and Vera (23-11-1 MMA, 15-10 UFC) had their share of moments, but after 15 minutes, the judges were split. Two of the official scorecards favored Zahabi, declairing him the winner with dueling 29-28 scores.

Even the crowd was split throughout the fight, as alternating chants of both fighters’ names broke out as the feel-out process unfolded.

Vera pressured from the center early as they exchanged strikes at a calculated pace. Zahabi put together a strong flurry of strikes along the fence, creating the first significant moment of the fight. Vera was active targeting the legs, and scored well himself throughout the frame.

At one moment in the round, Vera appeared to reset a dislocated finger, but carried on without issue.

Heavy striking exchanges took place in the center of the ring in the second round. While both landed well, it was Vera who scored a knockdown with a hard, clean left jab to the jaw.

Zahabi managed to avoid the follow-up blitz to stay in the fight. In the final minute, Zahabi came forward to land a few big combinations. The two shared an intense staredown after the horn.

With the fight seemingly hanging in the balance with five minutes to go, Vera continued to work well behind the jab when the fight was in the center, but found himself in trouble when Zahabi got him close to the cage. As the time ticked away, Vera remained more active, firing first. This one came to a close with a wild brawl in the final 10 seconds.

After the dust settled, two of the judges thought Zahabi’s work was enough to win the fight by split decision.

With the result, Zahabi extends his current winning streak to seven, and called his shot for a bout against former champion Sean O’Malley. The Canadian began the year with a unanimous nod over UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo.

Vera walks away with a third consecutive loss. His most recent win was a unanimous decision over Pedro Munhoz, but a title shot loss against then-champ O’Malley and Deiveson Figueiredo followed.