Sean O’Malley just avenged his only MMA loss, defending his bantamweight title against No. 5 ranked contender Marlon Vera at UFC 299 in Miami.
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.
Read more: Dustin Poirier KNOCKS OUT “God of War” at UFC 299!
Read more: UFC 299 results: MVP wins UFC debut in Miami!
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.
Read more: Ilia Topuria is officially the MMA superstar of Europe. Now what?
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.
Read more: UFC 299 prelim results: Blaydes stops Almeida, heavyweight newcomer scores 18-second KO
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)
- Dustin Poirier def. Benoit Saint-Denis via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:32
- Michael Page def. Kevin Holland via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jack Della Maddalena def. Gilbert Burns via knockout (strikes) – Round 3, 3:43
- Petr Yan def. Yadong Song via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Prelims:
- Curtis Blaydes def. Jailton Almeida via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:36
- Maycee Barber vs. Katlyn Cerminara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Mateusz Gamrot def. Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Kyler Phillips def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Philipe Lins def. Ion Cutelaba via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Michel Pereira def. Michal Oleksiejczuk via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:01
- Robelis Despaigne def. Josh Parisian via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:18
- Asu Almabaev def. CJ Vergara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Joanne Wood def. Maryna Moroz via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Watch the UFC 299 post-fight press conference right here!
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