Marlon Vera criticizes Sean O’Malley’s records ahead of UFC 299

Marlon “Chito” Vera recently mocked Sean “Sugar” O’Malley regarding his UFC records during an interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri. He said O’Malley fought guys that never won in the UFC and some of those guys were terrible.

Both fighters will meet at the UFC 299 to claim a bantamweight champion title in Miami on March 9, 2024.

With the criticism, Vera challenges O’Malley’s legitimacy and questions his opponent’s quality, setting the match with high stakes.

“I just need to beat him. I want to beat beat him. I have to beat him,” Vera said. “I’ll become the world champion.”

UFC bantamweight fighter Ricky Simón has also openly expressed his negative view of O’Malley’s abilities, sharing his opinion about O’Malley winning the 135-pound gold last year.

Simón also said Vera had trained with the Ecuadorian in the past and become a dangerous stylistic match-up for O’Malley. He believes Vera will win the upcoming match.

Overview and stats

In August 2020, the two fought at UFC 252 as up-and-coming contenders, where Vera defeated O’Malley in the first round of technical knockout (TKO). During the match, O’Malley suffered an abnormal leg injury that left him off-balance, leading to his single loss on the record.

After losing to Vera, O’Malley went undefeated in six straight fights on his way to claiming the bantamweight title, including knocking out Raulian Paiva, Kris Mputinho, Thomas Almeida, Pedro Muchoz and Petr Yan.

Standing at 5’11” and weighing 135 lbs, O’Malley knocked out Aljamain Sterling in the second round at UFC 292 in August 2023. He holds a record of 17-1-0 and 12-1 TKO in his MMA career, with an average fight time of 8 minutes 45 seconds, 61 percent striking accuracy, 42 percent takedown accuracy and 62 percent takedown defense.

Meanwhile, after knocking out O’Malley, Vera with his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighting style has a record of 21-8-1 with 8-0 TKO, with 12:54 average fight time, 50 percent striking accuracy, 39 percent takedown accuracy and 70 percent takedown defense. He won against Munchoz at a recent UFC 292 in the third round.