Sean O’Malley delivers a 25-minute masterclass to dominate Marlon Vera at UFC 299 in Miami and defend the bantamweight title following Dustin Poirier’s incredible KO win over Benoit Saint Denis
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Sean ‘Suga’ O’Malley successfully defended his bantamweight title in the UFC 299 main event after outpointing his long-time rival Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera in Miami.
O’Malley had suffered his first and only loss in MMA to Chito in 2020, but a repeat never seemed likely as he produced a dominant display at the Kaseya Center.
The American brutally caught his challenger with a knee in the second round, with Chito somehow withstanding the blow to stay in the match.
Chito produced his best shot of the night in the closing seconds of the fifth round, but it proved too late as O’Malley put in a complete performance throughout the 25-minute match.
O’Malley was unanimously awarded the victory with two scorecards giving the American a 50-45 margin, while the other read 50-44 in his favor.
Sean O’Malley delivered a dominant performance to retain his bantamweight title in the UFC 299 main event in Miami
O’Malley dominated the only man who had beaten him in MMA, with Vera surviving a knee to the face and several punches
O’Malley was confirmed as the winner by unanimous scorecards, as he secured a successful first defense of his title
“Chito is as strong as they come, it feels good to get that back,” O’Malley said after the fight.
“I think we can all agree that I’m still undefeated. Chito is as tough as they come.”
O’Malley then told Dana White to get him on a ‘jet to Spain’ as he urged the UFC supremo to set him up for a fight against Ilia Topuria.
Topuria defeated Alexander Volkanovski last month to win the featherweight title, but O’Malley believes he can step up the weight class to take on the undefeated Spaniard.
“Dana, get a plane to Spain, honey. I’m coming for Ilia Topuria,” O’Malley said.
‘He’s a scary guy, Illia. It excites me, moving up a weight class excites me.
“Honestly, I’m here for whatever. If you want me to knock out Merab [Dvalishvili] I will do that too, but Illia is an exciting fight for the people.’
Former US President Donald Trump, who attended with his daughter Ivanka and UFC supremo Dana White, gave O’Malley a thumbs up to congratulate the American.
Former US President Donald Trump was sidelined at UFC 299 with his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner
Dustin Poirier scored a stunning knockout victory against Benoit Saint-Denis in their lightweight bout in Miami
Poirier stunned his rival with an uppercut before ending the match with a right hook to deliver a knockout blow
The Republican presidential candidate’s appearance came just hours after he addressed a crowd of supporters in Rome, Georgia.
Trump had arrived during the undercard so was on hand to watch Dustin Poirier score an incredible knockout win over Benoit Saint-Denis.
Saint-Denis started impressively against Porier, landing knees, elbows and short punches, but was undone in the second round.
Porier caught the Frenchman with an uppercut before putting him away with a right hook to secure the 22nd UFC victory of his career.
“I got beat up a little bit,” Porier admitted afterwards. ‘He was quite strong.
“I took the fight because he has finished his last five and he is dangerous with a ‘just never say’ attitude.
“It’s the nature of the beat, it’s what we do. Respect for him, sacrifice does not go unnoticed.’