Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera was a battle for the UFC bantamweight title. Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera was looking to capture the bantamweight throne while ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley was looking to avenge a prior career loss.
Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera 2
At UFC 299, Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera went down and it was a one-sided matchup for the US-born ‘Sugar’ Sean. However, the ultra-tough ‘Chito’ Vera simply would not go down no matter what he was hit with.
O’Malley captured the bantamweight crown with an impressive knockout against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. Later, Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera was his first title defense. He will be looking to defend his crown again at UFC 306 against the relentless Merab Dvalishvili.
In terms of striking, O’Malley significantly outperformed Vera. He landed 230 out of 356 significant strikes, achieving an impressive accuracy rate of 64%. In contrast, Vera managed to land only 89 out of 241 significant strikes, resulting in a 36% accuracy rate. O’Malley’s strikes were all over, with 150 aimed at the head, 61 to the body, and 19 to the legs. Vera’s strikes, on the other hand, were primarily directed at the head.
Throughout the fight, O’Malley consistently outlanded Vera in each round. In the first round, he landed 27 significant strikes compared to Vera’s 9. The second round saw O’Malley land 51 strikes to Vera’s 16, and he continued this trend with 35 to 17 in the third round, 56 to 26 in the fourth, and 61 to 21 in the final round.
On hitting ‘Chito’ Vera, O’Malley explained:
“I would love to know if I broke something in his face with that knee. It was the loudest pop I’ve ever heard hitting someone. It was actually a disgusting feeling. It was gross. I would love to see a picture of his face today.”