Marlon Vera ready for UFC-Belem bout with Douglas de Andrade, the 'generic John Lineker'

Marlon Vera is fighting Douglas de Andrade on Saturday in Brazil … not John Lineker in a rematch.

But that’s not going to stop him from making the comparison. It also helps that he does Spanish-language broadcast work as an analyst – so breaking things down is part of his nature.

“That’s actually my job – I work for the Spanish broadcast, so I most likely know every single guy on the roster,” Vera told MMAjunkie Radio. “… I know the guy – I saw him fight before. He’s like a generic version of (Lineker: He comes forward and throws big punches. But they’re different – he’s not Lineker, and I’m ready to go.”

Vera (10-4-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) fights de Andrade (24-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in a bantamweight bout on the UFC Fight Night 125 preliminary card Saturday at Mangueirinho Gymnasium in Belem, Para, Brazil. The card airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Vera will be trying to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Lineker, also from Brazil, and also in Brazil, this past October. The setback snapped a three-fight winning streak that included a bonus-winning TKO of Brad Pickett and a submission of Brian Kelleher.

The 25-year-old Ecuadorian said he believes de Andrade will want to get into a slugfest.

“I know the guy will punch hard – I’m not dumb,” Vera said. “If I go in cocky and dumb, he’ll knock me out with a big punch. But that’s not me. I’ll be smart.

“They fight similar. Lineker’s a bad mother(expletive) – don’t get me wrong. I’m a fan of the guy. … Douglas has a similar style. He’ll try to knock my head off, and if he tries to do something different, I’ll be glad because no one wants to get punched in the face.”

If Vera can keep from getting punched in the face, or at least punched in the face few enough times to come out on top, himself, and get back on track, he’ll have four wins in his past five fights.

And he doesn’t see why that should be an issue on Saturday.

“I think if I put together everything, I can beat Douglas no problem.”

To hear more from Vera, check out the video above.

For more on UFC Fight Night 125, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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