A brand new \u201cChito\u201d is coming.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been 14 months since Vera last competed \u2014 the longest layoff of his professional career \u2014 but according to him, that break was exactly what he needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt had something to do with skill or on a mental level definitely if you\u2019re falling short,\u201d Vera told reporters<\/a> when asked about his recent two-fight skid<\/a>. \u201cI could make excuses and blame everybody, but when it comes down to it, I had to sit down and talk about it. I really feel like I was burned out. I train too hard \u2014 not because of anything bad, but because I love to do it. I mean, I don\u2019t drink, I don\u2019t party, I don\u2019t sniff cocaine<\/a>, so what else can I do? Train all day, every day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlus, I love my long-distance running, and 50 miles on Sunday \u2014 you\u2019re f\u2014ked on Monday,\u201d Vera added.<\/p>\n One of the biggest criticisms of Vera\u2019s career has been his tendency to start slow<\/a>, often giving away early rounds before finding his rhythm<\/a>. For this camp, however, \u201cChito\u201d completely overhauled his conditioning routine. Gone are the 30-to-50-mile Sunday runs \u2014 replaced with sprints and explosive drills designed to sharpen his speed and reaction time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did a lot of sprinting,\u201d Vera said. \u201cWe switched the long-distance running to sprints twice a week and saw changes. When we were sparring, it showed \u2014 I was a little quicker in the first round, and I thought, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s what it was.\u2019 When you\u2019re running for three to four hours, you\u2019re not going to have fast twitch \u2014 you\u2019re going to last forever. But we\u2019re only fighting 15 minutes, so I thought that was a good change.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Vera, the results have already shown up in training. Whether they translate inside the Octagon remains to be seen \u2014 but after admitting and addressing his biggest weakness, a sharper, faster version of \u201cChito\u201d might be on the horizon.<\/p>\n The 24-fight UFC vet is currently a +105 underdog to Zahabi.<\/p>\n Remember that MMAmania.com<\/a> will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vancouver fight card<\/a>, starting with the ESPN+<\/a> \u201cPrelims\u201d matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 7 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+<\/a>).<\/p>\n