MMA
UFC 299: Sean O'Malley dazzles against Marlon Vera for first bantamweight title defense before calling out Ilia Topuria
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"Suga" Sean O'Malley took that one blemish on his pro record and exacted sweet revenge.
O'Malley pitched a unanimous decision shutout to defeat Marlon Vera in their rematch as the main event of UFC 299 from the Kaseya Center In Miami, Florida on Saturday night. The judges scored it 50-45, 50-45 and 50-44 all in the favour of the champ who recorded his first bantamweight title defence.
From the opening round, the 29-year-old dictated the pace, exploiting holes through Vera's guard for crisp jabs. When he wasn't aiming the weapon upstairs, the champ was investing to the body with jabs and kicks. O'Malley's most significant damage came with about 90 seconds left in the second round where he detonated a huge jumping knee which turned Vera's nose into a faucet of blood. He would threaten a stoppage against the challenger in the moments that followed with a barrage of punches, but "Chito" would survive the round.
Though Vera would make the fight tougher on O'Malley over the last two rounds, he didn't keep up with the champ's volume as "Suga" wound up with 186 total strikes to Vera's 90 in a brilliant performance.
With the win, O'Malley more than made up for the first-round TKO loss (elbows and punches) that Vera produced against him back in August 2020.
After the victory, O'Malley dared to be even greater by calling out newly-crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.
"Dana [White], get me a jet to Spain, baby," O'Malley said, "I'm coming for Ilia Topuria."
He added: "He's a scary f—ing dude. Ilia excites me, going up a weight class excites me."
If that plan doesn't work out, O'Malley said he'll knock out No. 1 bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili if that's what the fans prefer.
Here's how the entire UFC 299 main card went.
