Marlon Vera returned to the win column after a close striking battle, picking up a key win to keep his title hopes alive.

“Chito” Vera (21-8-1 MMA, 15-7 UFC) spent all three rounds against Pedro Munhoz (20-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) in fast striking exchanges in their bantamweight bout which opened up the UFC 292 main card at TD Garden in Boston. When the dust settled, scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 were unanimously issued in Vera’s favor.

Munhoz came out of the gates aggressively, but Vera remained calm and looked to keep the fight at his own pace. The crowd began chanting Vera’s name as punches and kicks were exchanged while the fighters covered a lot of real estate in the octagon. Vera did well to parry and counter some of Munhoz’s attacks, but also had a lower offensive output in the opening round.

Continuing a similar pace, Munhoz came out fast with combinations. Both fighters connected with strikes as most of the round was spent in the center of the cage. In the later stages of Round 2, Munhoz focused on calf kicks while Vera worked behind his jab. The exchanges heated up in the final minute, making for another round that a judge could have reasonably scored for either fighter.

Munhoz continued to offer strikes first to start the final round, but Vera’s left jab began to cause damage. Vera stung Munhoz repeatedly with the punch, creating openings for combinations. The damage to Munhoz’s face became apparent as they continued to exchange strikes. The final round was Vera’s best, but the result rested on the cageside judges.

Unanimous for @ChitoVeraUFC!

He takes the decision over Pedro Munhoz to open the #UFC292 Main Card pic.twitter.com/ihMdDqRavm

— UFC (@ufc) August 20, 2023

Ultimately, two of the official judges saw every round for Vera, while the other judge only found one to score in Munhoz’s favor.

With the result, Vera bounces back from a split decision loss to Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ESPN 43 in March. During fight week, Vera began angling for a rematch against Sean O’Malley, should he defeat Aljamain Sterling in the main event for the bantamweight title.

Munhoz entered on the heels of a unanimous decision win over Chris Gutierrez in April, but was unable to put together two in a row as his momentum was halted in Boston.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 292 results include:

• Marlon Vera def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Brad Tavares def. Chris Weidman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Gregory Rodrigues def. Denis Tiuliulin via knockout (elbows) – Round 1, 1:43
• Kurt Holobaugh def. Austin Hubbard via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 2:39 – to win “TUF 31” lightweight season
• Brad Katona def. Cody Gibson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) – to win “TUF 31” bantamweight season
• Andre Petroski def. Gerald Meerschaert via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Natalia Silva def. Andrea Lee via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Karine Silva def. Maryna Moroz via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:59

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.