UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’ Malley has revenge on his mind as he goes into his first-ever 135-pound title defense against longtime rival Marlon Vera at the upcoming UFC 299 pay-per-view (PPV) event on March 9 in Miami. That’s because “Chito” gave O’Malley his first and only loss inside the Octagon, stopping “Suga” via technical knockout (TKO) at UFC 252 back in Aug. 2020.
Just over three years later, the two bantamweights will collide for all the marbles, though O’Malley doesn’t feel “Chito” has improved enough since their first fight to offer up much of a challenge when they run it back in South Beach.
“He’s kind of peaked,” O’Malley told The MMA Hour. “I’m better than this dude. I’m going to go out there and do what I was about to do to him [in our first fight] and put his lights out. He’s good, he’s tough, he’s very durable, but that doesn’t get the job done against me. You can’t just be tough, you can’t just be durable. I believe I’m more skilled, faster, more accurate, and I’m going to go out there and I just feel confident standing in front of him.”
Though O’Malley plans to end the fight early, “Suga” is still preparing for an all-out war against the Ecuadorian-born fighter.
“Mentally, physically, emotionally, I’m preparing for 25 minutes,” the champion continued. “I’m preparing to leave there limping, leave there sore, leave there with my hand hurt from his head. So [I’m] preparing for the worst, but realistically, I’m putting this dude’s lights out within three [rounds].”
O’Malley won the title by knocking out Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in Aug. 2023 (highlights here), improving his record to 5-0-1 since losing to Vera. As for “Chito,” he is 5-2 since defeating “Suga,” and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz, also at UFC 292.
To see who else is fighting at UFC 299 click here.