Vera Changes Camp Ahead of UFC 331

Marlon Vera has changed his training setup ahead of UFC 331 as he tries to end a four-fight losing streak. The former bantamweight title challenger parted with longtime coach Jason Parillo and prepared with a new group for his September 19 fight against Charles Jourdain at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Vera has taken responsibility for the results that prompted the move. In his fight-week interview, he acknowledged that competing hard had not been enough to secure the decisions he needed. The change is an attempt to turn that assessment into a better performance against a Canadian opponent arriving with three consecutive victories.

It is a consequential moment for a veteran with wins over former champions and a championship challenge already behind him. Vera is not entering another camp with the expectation that familiarity alone will reverse his form. He has altered the people around his preparation and now gets an immediate test of that decision.

Four decisions made the need for change clear

The losing run began at UFC 299 in March 2024, when Sean O’Malley defeated Vera by unanimous decision in their bantamweight title fight. Deiveson Figueiredo then beat him by unanimous decision in August of the same year. A split decision went to Aiemann Zahabi in October 2025, before David Martinez took another unanimous verdict in February 2026.

Those results share an important detail: all four contests reached the judges. Vera has continued to complete fights against strong opposition, but the scorecards have repeatedly gone the other way. His latest comments focus on doing more and making better decisions, which addresses the competitive pattern rather than treating the losing streak as a single bad night.

Vera’s previous successes show why the present position is so frustrating. He knocked out Frankie Edgar in 2021 and Dominick Cruz in 2022, with a five-round decision victory over Rob Font between those finishes. His most recent win came against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292 in August 2023, before the title opportunity against O’Malley.

The task now is to recover that ability to turn difficult rounds into winning performances. Past results demonstrate that Vera has found late finishes and won long contests, but they cannot decide the next one. The new camp is significant because it changes his preparation at a point when repeating the previous approach had stopped producing victories.

Jourdain brings momentum to the reset

Vera’s new training group includes Raul Rosas Jr. and accomplished grapplers Jalen Fonacier and Kennedy Maciel. He has described the relationship with Rosas as mutually useful, combining the younger fighter’s energy with his own experience. The adjustment gives him fresh training partners as he prepares for an opponent whose recent record includes both submissions and a decision win.

Jourdain submitted Victor Henry with a guillotine in November 2024 and finished Davey Grant with the same technique in October 2025. He then defeated Kyler Phillips by unanimous decision in April 2026. That sequence shows why the matchup demands more than a willingness to trade punches: Jourdain has demonstrated more than one route to victory.

Three details give this fight a clear competitive shape:

• Vera is trying to turn a changed camp into his first victory since beating Pedro Munhoz.
• Jourdain has won his last three UFC appearances, including two guillotine submissions.
• Both made weight on September 18: Vera at 136 pounds and Jourdain at 135.

Vera can draw on considerably more UFC experience, but his opponent’s recent form supplies the immediate challenge. Jourdain has been finding ways to win while Vera has been searching for the adjustment that gets him back on track. The September 19 bout will provide the first competitive evidence of whether the new setup has improved the decisions and execution that Vera himself identified as needing work.