UFC bantamweight Chito Vera couldn’t have played it cooler. Too cool, perhaps.
A viral video surfaced on Friday showing Vera running off a man in a mask and hoodie not with his fists, but a large shotgun conveniently within his reach after he first notices the man, armed with a knife, walking up his driveway in broad daylight.
Vera was working on his pick-up truck at the time. His shotgun was located inside the truck, which he grabbed, without blinking an eye as the stranger approached. Vera cocked and pointed the gun but didn’t shoot. He didn’t need to, as the sight of the large firearm caused the would-be attacker to turn and run, dropping his knife as he fled the scene.
The scene was captured by what appears to be home security footage. Whether it was Vera’s house is unknown, as is the location of the incident.
For some who watched the video, everything plays out a little too neatly to be real. The entire scene transpires in 17 seconds. Vera, 22, is an Ecuadorian professional mixed martial artist competing in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of the end of February, he was ranked seventh in the UFC bantamweight rankings.
“The scramble away didn’t look life-threatening, I call staged,” one fan commented on Instagram.
“Something seems fishy about this lol,” wrote another.
“Comically staged battle,” added a third.
But other fans were less skeptical.
“I believe Chito would (have) won with or without the shotgun,” wrote one fan.
“Should’ve used his 2nd Amendment rights,” typed another.
The timing of the video, with UFC 313 fight week kicking off, has also aroused suspicions.
Vera hasn’t commented outside of posting the video. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck called the video a “skit,” SB Nation is reporting, but there’s been no confirmation besides that.
Vera is trying to rebound in 2025 after losses last year to Sean O’Malley and Deiveson Figueiredo. His next fight is scheduled for May 3 in Des Moines, where he’ll face No. 10-ranked bantamweight Mario Bautista in the co-main event.
Details are scarce. the
confronting a knife-wielding man outside his home.
In the footage, Vera appears to be working on his truck when a hooded figure approaches, brandishing a long blade. The UFC veteran calmly reaches into his car, pulls out a humongous shotgun, cocks it, and points it at the man—who quickly tosses the knife and runs away.
