Who is Carlos Vera?

As the second pay-per-view event of 2024, UFC 298 will feature five more debutants, including 36-year-old bantamweight Carlos Vera.

As an 11-3 prospect from Manabi, Ecuador, Vera has spent the majority of his career in prominent regional promotions including a 4-0 stint in Fury FC that earned him a spot on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter. Beginning his professional career in 2014, Vera has an equally extensive amateur career, going 9-4 on regional shows before his official debut.

Perhaps most known amongst the general MMA fanbase for his role on the 2024 edition of The Ultimate Fighter, Vera was a bantamweight 'prospect' for Team McGregor. On the show, Vera was one of the seven members of McGregor's team to not advance past the first round, losing a two-round decision to Team Chandler's Brad Katona, who would go on to become the season's eventual champion.

Excluding the bout with Katona — which is credited as an exhibition match and not towards his official record — Vera has not lost a professional bout since 2020.

Although Vera presented himself as a striker on The Ultimate Fighter with a heavy background in Capoeira and kickboxing, five of his 11 career wins have been by submission.

Carlos Vera will fight Rinya Nakamura at UFC 298

While Vera did not have a successful outing on The Ultimate Fighter, he will have an even tougher task in his UFC debut as the biggest underdog of UFC 298 against highly-touted Japanese prospect Rinya Nakamura. Vera is currently a +800 underdog on DraftKings Sportsbook.

UFC 298 will be Vera's second attempt at an official octagon debut, having a prior bout with Daniel Marcos fall through at UFC Vegas 83. Barring another fight week fallout, Vera will join Katona, Kurt Holobaugh, Landon Quiñones, Roosevelt Roberts and Cody Gibson as the sixth member of The Ultimate Fighter season 31 cast on the UFC roster.