While UFC 313 week is underway, Chito Vera, the known Bantamweight Ecuadorian UFC fighter, seems to be fighting off more than a couple of fists and kicks. In a viral video shared on social media, Vera is seen minding his own business when, all of a sudden, he is approached by a knife-armed robber. Unfaced, Vera pulls out a shotgun, prompting the robber to flee. While impactful, many fans are calling it staged, and it appears that it might be.
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On Friday, March 7, a video shared on Instagram showed Vera working on his red truck at his California home while barefoot. The camera then shows a hooded individual approaching Vera, and the figure then pulls out what appears to be a large knife.
" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px);width:calc(100% - 2px)">As soon as Vera notices the incoming threat, he walks to his truck's driver's window. He grabs a shotgun, pumps it, and points it toward the knife-armed robber. Said robber, knowing he was about to be sent to oblivion, decided instead to flee the scene. Vera, with an apparent compassion, only watches the robber escape, without firing a single shot.
Video Staged?
While the video seems like an impressive show of strength on Vera's behalf, many fans reacted skeptically to it. Most of them were pointing at the fact that no one had a shotgun just casually sitting in their vehicle.
"The scramble away didn't look life-threatening, I call staged," one user wrote. "This has to be fake, you live in a neighborhood like that you don't just casually have your shotgun sitting in the driver's seat," a second user wrote. Similarly, a third one said: "Staged. Nobody has a shotty lying on their seat like that."
According to MMA Fighting's Mike Heck, the whole interaction between Vera and the apparent robber was, in fact, staged. Vera has not addressed the incident as of yet, but he is probably busy fixing his red truck while defending himself from other assailants. Or maybe not, who knows.
Regardless if it was fake or not., other fans were impressed by Chito Vera and his handling of the situation.
"What possesses someone to rob the one guy who looks like he absolutely just has a shotgun on standby," one user wrote. "Why u running boy? Gonna go home and do your math homework?" a second user wrote. A third one said: "Remember folks, an armed society is a polite society."
