Nearly 4 years in the past, Sean O’Malley suffered the one lack of his profession and it got here in opposition to Marlon ”Chito” Vera. Tonight, he’ll attempt to show that loss was a fluke.
O’Malley (17-1) will defend his UFC bantamweight championship for the primary time when he meets Vera (23-8-1) in the primary occasion of UFC 299 at Kaseya Middle in Miami. O’Malley misplaced by way of TKO in 2020 after a nerve in his proper foot went numb from a Vera leg kick. O’Malley has given Vera credit score for touchdown the kick, however has at all times maintained that it wasn’t a “true” loss due to the rarity of the nerve subject.
Each bantamweights have loved a number of success within the time since. O’Malley captured the 135-pound championship final August by knocking out longtime champ Aljamain Sterling. Vera is 5-2, with wins over a number of former champions in Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz.
Additionally on the cardboard, veteran light-weight Dustin Poirier will make his thirtieth look within the Octagon, opposing French up-and-comer Benoît Saint Denis; Kevin Holland faces Michael “Venom” Web page in Web page’s UFC debut; Gilbert Burns goals to cease the rise of Jack Della Maddalena; and Track Yadong appears to be like to prime former bantamweight champ Petr Yan.
Observe alongside as Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, Jeff Wagenheim and Dre Waters recap the motion or watch the fights stay on ESPN+ PPV.