Sean O’Malley avenged his sole career defeat against old rival Marlon Vera when the pair squared off in the headliner of UFC 299. The MMA event aired live on PPV from Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on Saturday, March 9.
The pair first met in August 2020. Vera came out with the win via first-round TKO. The scheduled for five rounds rematch, with O’Malley’s bantamweight title on the line, went the full distance. The latter secured a dominant win by unanimous decision. The scores were 50-45, 50-45 and 50–44.
With the victory, Sean O’Malley made the first successful defense of his belt. The Dana White’s Contender Series alumni improved to 18-1, 1 NC and earned his third win in a row. Post-fight, the 29-year-old native of Helena, Montana said he wanted to face a newly crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.
Ecuador’s 31-year-old Marlon Vera dropped to 28-9-1. No. 5-ranked contender didn’t succeed in his first attempt to become champion.
Get UFC 299: O’Malley vs Vera 2 full card results.