The booking was confirmed on the ESPN.com event page. UFC Fight Night 148 takes place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., on March 23 and is headlined by a welterweight tilt between Stephen Thompson and Anthony Pettis. The card will stream on ESPN+.
Vera enters the matchup on a two-fight winning streak after scoring finishes of Guido Cannetti and Wuliji Buren in his final two UFC appearances of 2018. The Ecuadorian fighter is 6-4 during his Octagon tenure.
Saenz has also won his last two bouts, earn a split verdict over Merab Dvalishvili at UFC Fight Night 123 before outpointing Enrique Briones at UFC Fight Night 129.