Sean O’Malley beats Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera in rematch to defend UFC world title

O’Malley suffered his first UFC loss when Vera knocked him out in 2020 and the bitter rivals met for the second time in a world title rematch in Miami

Sean O’Malley (right) and Marlon Vera exchange strikes during their UFC 299 fight

Sean O’Malley avenged his loss to Marlon Vera and defended his UFC bantamweight world title with a one-sided points win.

‘Chito’ silenced O’Malley with a stoppage win they fought for the first time in August 2020. ‘Suga Sean’ protested the defeat and still declared himself unbeaten as he insisted a leg injury was the only reason he lost the fight. The rivals unsurprisingly didn’t touch gloves as their rematch got underway and they kicked away at each other’s legs in a tentative start.

There wasn’t much action in the opening round but O’Malley was landing the more impactful strikes as Vera was slow to get going. O’Malley was easily using his speed to advantage to pick away at Vera with low kicks and jabs. The Ecuadorian was being outclassed on the feet and was biting on a lot of O’Malley’s feints.

Sean O’Malley won a one-sided decision against Marlon Vera

Vera was hurt by a big knee and somehow didn’t go down but O’Malley smelled blood and continued to land heavy shots. Vera came out firing in the third round but his newfound aggression opened him up to O’Malley’s counters. Vera had lost every round after 15-minutes and was told by his coach Jason Parillo that he needed a finish in the final two rounds to win the fight.

Vera responded to his coach’s plea and turned up the pressure but O’Malley knew he was still cruising his way to a decision win. O’Malley hurt ‘Chito’ at the start of the final round and the Ecuadorian was having trouble with his vision. The judges’ scored the fight 50-45, 50-45 and 50-44 in favour of O’Malley as he made the first defence of his world title.

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“Chito is as tough as they get, it feels good to get that one back. I think we can all agree I’m undefeated still,” O’Malley said in his post-fight interview. ‘Suga Sean’ then called out featherweight champion Ilia Topuria for a super-fight: “Give me a jet to Spain, I want Ilia Topuria. He’s a scary dude and going up a weight class excites me.”

Elsewhere on the UFC 299 card, Dustin Poirier knocked out Benoit Saint Denis in a back and forth fight. Both Poirier and Saint Denis had their moments in the opening two rounds, but it was Poirier who closed the show with a right hand that floored Saint Denis. British MMA star Michael ‘Venom’ Page also picked up a win in his UFC debut as he beat Kevin Holland on points.