O’Malley won the 135 lbs strap by knocking out Aljamain Sterling last year. Now, he just made his first successful defense while looking sharper than ever against the only man to defeat him previously.
Sean O’Malley won every single round against Marlon Vera
”Suga” Sean O’Malley utilized superior footwork and a wide range of offensive strikes to win every single round, although Marlon Vera certainly had a respectable showing and put up a solid fight against the champ.
Vera, a notorious slow-starter, turned it up in round four as he made it a dog fight and bloodied O’Malley nose. However, the champion was still the more active fighter. In round five, O’Malley hurt Vera several times although the challenger actually connected with a huge shot to the body just as time ran out.
The judges scored the bout 50-45, 50-45 and 50-44 in favor of Sean O’Malley.
”I guess we could all agree I’m undefeated still,” O’Malley, who dubbed himself ”mentally undefeated” following his 2020 loss to Vera, said in his post-fight interview.
With the win, O’Malley moves to 18-1, 1 NC in his professional MMA career. Now he wants to challenge for double-champ status against undefeated featherweight champion Ilia Topuria in Spain next.
However, the UFC will likely want him to defend the bantamweight belt against No. 1 ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili who’s riding a ten-fight winning streak and was the backup fighter for tonight’s title fight.
UFC 299 results: Dustin Poirier, Michael ”Venom” Page victorious in Miami
In the co-main event, UFC lightweight star Dustin Poirier knocked out rising prospect Benoit ”God of War” Saint-Denis. Read more about that fight here.
You can also read more about the UFC debut of MVP, Michael ”Venom” Page, right here.
That being said, check out the official UFC 299 results down below!
Main card:
Sean O’Malley def. Marlon Vera via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-44)