MIAMI — Still, UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley was painfully accurate at UFC 299.
“The Sugar Show” landed nearly triple the number of strikes and punched his opponent in the face, defeating Marlon “Tito” Vera by decision to successfully defend his title.
The crowd, the commentary team, and even O’Malley himself were stunned when Vera was able to land a knee to the face during the third round of his successful title defense. A cracking sound echoed throughout the loud arena. Bella went into zombie mode and kept moving forward, standing up.
But it was in vain, as O’Malley (18-1) won by unanimous decision, with the judges denying Vera a round.
O’Malley, wearing Miami’s cool pink shorts, was calm under pressure and always looking for a finish, but it seems like no one can finish Berra (23-9-1).
As Joe Rogan exclaimed after the event, “Marlon, you’re the fucking king.” Vera had never been knocked down in his 23-fight career in the UFC and walked away showered with love from the vast sea of yellow flags that represent his home country of Ecuador.
Nearly four years ago, O’Malley was in the opposite position, lying on the octagon floor at the hands of Vera and tarnishing his undefeated record (12-0 at the time) with a TKO loss.
On August 15, 2020, he suffered a torn ligament injury in his right foot. But like Knicks star Jalen Brunson, those worst fears didn’t come true. O’Malley continued on his path to stardom despite such problems, and now, with the only stain on his record removed, he has a start to stardom.
Now, with an 18-1 record and the defending champion, there is no longer any question as to who is the biggest star in martial arts. “Suga” O’Malley has a sweet and spicy taste.
“He’s the greatest bantamweight we’ve ever had,” UFC President Dana White said in a post-event press conference.
“Miami is now as big as Madison Square Garden in terms of numbers,” White told reporters, reporting a gate of $14,142,904, the fifth-highest in company history.
He’s a big star, but he’ll be hard-pressed to break the $17 million-plus barrier for UFC 205 McGregor vs. Alvarez at Madison Square Garden in 2016.
