For 15 minutes, Sean O’Malley was on cruise control. By cruise control, I mean the type of thing the UFC bantamweight champion might have turned on his sixth gear in his pink Lamborghini.
He had already accumulated enough rounds to secure a points victory. In what was the only loss of his professional MMA career, he was stopped by challenger Marlon “Tito, who was battered through three frames with 10 minutes remaining, but is known for getting stronger as the fight progresses.” ”・It was Bella.
We’ve already seen how Vera handles the “championship round” in three non-title main events over the past two years, but O’Malley’s mettle in 16-25 minutes, the actual champion, remains to be tested. It had not been done.
Let’s add a plus to “SUGA”.
O’Malley (18-1, 13 finishes) returned the best Tito had to offer in kind and in excess in the main event of UFC 299 in Miami on Saturday, heading for a clean sweep on the scorecards. contributed.
“Tito couldn’t be tougher,” O’Malley said inside the cage after the scores (50-45, 50-45, 50-44) were read. “Well, it feels good to have that back.”
This left a stomach-churning sour taste days later for O’Malley, who couldn’t wait to wash the bad aftertaste of Berra’s victory in their last meeting in August 2020 from his mouth, and post It made sense when the paper wrote the article. She spoke to him before she makes her first title defense this weekend, but she doesn’t want to think too much about it yet.
“I think you all agree that I’m still undefeated,” he hinted, even after putting the belt back on his waist.
Well, not everyone. Three-and-a-half years ago, Berra won the first round when a legitimate kick damaged O’Malley’s peroneal nerve and a big elbow to the ground stopped him, but it was on his ledger. It marked an eternal setback.
But there’s no need to dwell on the past, especially for O’Malley. Wearing new pink and golf shorts befitting a champion, the colorful star did everything he wanted with his feet, except he forced the referee to intervene.
Particularly in the first three rounds, O’Malley’s heavy attacks resulted in a devastating loss to the low-achieving Berra (23-9-1, 18 finishes), albeit less than usual.
Then came Berra for four rounds, finally turning the fight back to the champion after being all too content to let the attack go. The Ecuadorian pride had been assured before the round by his coach Jason Parrillo that he would not win the round, but he scrambled to the front after being hit with a flying knee and O’Malley leaking from his nose, which was the first of his troubles. It was a real sign of. Throughout the night, the champion matched the cotton candy blue and pink of his dyed braids and added a deep red on his lips.
However, as the battle continued, O’Malley never backed down. He stood against the gust of wind with his back against the fence. And he takes over again, smearing plasma on Tito’s face and winning yet another round on the scorecards.
But while Bella and his otherworldly chin were tested by a punishing high kick that ate him up like a PB&J in the second frame, it looked like it would hold up even after a grueling 20 minutes. I did.
What will happen to O’Malley’s jaw? As it turned out, it worked out pretty well.
According to UFC stats, Berra followed his coach’s advice to “empty the tank,” which energized O’Malley’s offense as he landed a match-high 61 significant strikes to energize NOS. The champion injured Vera early on, forcing the challenger to back off and focus on the situation that would bring the 29-year-old Vera closest to his 13th knockout victory.
And while Chin held up, it was O’Malley’s guts that nearly cost her the gold medal.
Needing a miracle, Berra sneaked a nasty left hook to O’Malley’s body just before the final horn, which clearly hurt. Even 30 seconds more might not have given Vera the win — Tito later said “I ran out of time” — but this is a sign that the No. 5 ranked contender in the UFC It was a reminder of how dangerous it was.
“Wow! Nice shot,” O’Malley said of the body blow.
Note: That was the fifth 135-pound guy in line. O’Malley told the Post that this was the fight he wanted in the first place, with top contenders Merab Dvalishvili and his teammate, former champion Aljamain Sterling, and Cory, who defeated Vera nearly a year ago. -He said he avoided Sandhagen. The Sharks surrounding Shuga should respect what they saw on Saturday, but it will only get harder for O’Malley from here.
All of the remaining top nine fighters in the bantamweight division have five rounds more experience than the champion, but at least he can say he has some experience now. That’s helpful.
