Sean O’Malley shared his prediction for how he sees things playing out in his impending UFC title tilt with top-ten-ranked contender Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
As announced by UFC CEO Dana White, O’Malley will put his bantamweight world title on the line when the promotion returns to the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida for UFC 299. The bout will serve as a rematch more than three years in the making.
Meeting in August 2020, ‘Sugar’ suffered his first, and thus far, only defeat inside the Octagon after injuring his leg in the opening round against Vera.
After scoring an impressive second-round knockout to claim the 135-pound crown from former champ Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292, Sean O’Malley’s first wish was to run it back with Vera and set right a blemish on his record that he still refuses to acknowledge.
Taking to social media, ‘Sugar’ offered up a prediction for when things will end between the two bantamweight stars this spring.
“I’ll stop Chito in the 3rd or 4th,” O’Malley wrote on X.
Is Sean O’Malley vs. ‘Chito’ Vera 2 the right fight to make?
Since coming up short against Vera at UFC 251, Sean O’Malley has rattled off five-straight wins, all but one of them coming by way of knockout. By comparison, ‘Chito’ Vera has gone 5-2 during the same timeframe with two finishes. Vera lost a closely contested split decision against Cory Sandhagen in March but bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz on the same night that O’Malley captured the bantamweight title.
Fans were initially critical of O’Malley’s decision to pursue a fight with Vera when there are far more deserving contenders in the division awaiting their shot. Most notably, Merab Dvalishvili who is currently riding a nine-fight win streak and thoroughly dominated former titleholder Petr Yan in his last Octagon outing.
Dvalishvili will meet former two-division titleholder Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 in a bout that could potentially serve as a title eliminator.