LAS VEGAS – Carlos Vera beat Josias Musasa with a first-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 254 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Vera, who pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year so far against Musasa, who was an 8-1 favorite in his UFC debut.
Carlos Vera def. Josias Musasa
Result: Carlos Vera def. Josias Musasa via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:16
Updated records: Vera (12-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC), Musasa (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Key stats: The odds for Vera to win by submission were +1400.
Vera on the fight’s key moment
“He was pressing me the whole time. He was a very composed and powerful fighter. I could feel his presence at all times. I could tell he didn’t really want to set big things up – he just wanted to throw big things down the pipe. And he was just following me. … It’s just stuff we drill. I threw the 2 and the kick came right after that. That’s just a childhood drill that I’ve done since I was a kid. Instinct just took place.”
HEAD KICK TO REAR NAKED CHOKE 😮💨
Carlos Vera get his first UFC victory in a big way! #UFCVegas104 pic.twitter.com/pUDkHrTbPG
— UFC (@ufc) March 15, 2025
Vera on the odds against him
“I don’t really listen to other people. To be honest with you, I love what I do and I’ve dedicated my life to this. There’s not many people who have dedicated their life to this. Most people that make odds don’t know what they’re talking about. They have thoughts. Maybe it’s kind of true, maybe it’s not. No one knows my journey. Until you’ve seen me fight maybe four or five more times, maybe then you can start getting a hold of who I am as a fighter.”
Vera on what he wants next
“I want a little bit of recovery, and then I’m going to get right back to training as soon as I get home. We’ll see what my manager has in store. Maybe in a few months we’ll come back.”
“There is a lot of new things we focused on.”
Carlos Vera made some adjustments ahead of his fight, and he was happy to see it pay off with a submission win.#UFCVegas104 Results, Interviews & More ➡️: https://t.co/Q3SV4cHKFl
— UFC News (@UFCNews) March 15, 2025
To hear more from Vera, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 254.
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