UFC: Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Chito Vera Rematch at UFC 299 Betting Details & Preview

The fighters in UFC 299’s main event have met before. Last time they fought at UFC 252, a little over three years ago. This time they will fight for the UFC’s bantamweight championship. In the champ’s first title defence, he will try to defend the title against the only man to defeat him in the octagon.

Fight Details

Sean O’Malley will fight Marlon Vera for the UFC’s bantamweight title in the main event at UFC 299 on March 9 in Miami. The early betting favourite on UFC betting sites is O’Malley, the current bantamweight champion, a week before the action. O’Malley has -250 odds to win the fight on Betway. Vera is the underdog heading into this fight by a good but not huge margin. Vera has +200 odds to win the bout at the moment. 

O’Malley won the bantamweight title at UFC 292, this will be his first fight as champion in the UFC. He has a 17-1 professional MMA record and is ranked at eight on the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings list. Vera is the number five ranked fighter in the bantamweight division. His professional MMA record is 21-8-1.

The countdown to #UFC299 begins TOMORROW! ⏳@SugaSeanMMA vs @ChitoVeraUFC

[ MAR 2 SAT | 9pmET/6pmPT on ESPNews ] pic.twitter.com/BlGiD5NtLc

— UFC (@ufc) March 1, 2024

“Suga” Sean O’Malley

After defeating former champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 and winning the bantamweight championship, O’Malley gets a shot at revenge. O’Malley’s knockout victory over Sterling solidified his status as one of the best in the business and was decisive. He is 5-0 since losing to Vera at UFC 252 in 2020. The fight was competitive until Vera landed a calf kick that looked like it injured O’Malley. That entire fight was fought on the feet, and this bout will probably be fought primarily on the feet also.

A huge concern is whether or not O’Malley can survive Vera’s power in a five-round fight. If Vera’s power is too much for the champ, this will be a tough fight for O’Malley. His defence will probably be the deciding factor because Vera has never been stopped in the UFC, all of his losses came by decision. O’Malley is one of the best strikers in the division and does not mind getting into a striking war. He should be able to win this fight by decision also if Vera does not stop him first. O’Malley also has a ton of power, so O’Malley winning this fight by KO/TKO should not be out of the realm of possibility. 

Marlon “Chito” Vera

If you have followed Sean O’Malley’s rise to the top in the UFC, you probably know who Chito Vera is. Vera is the only man to defeat O’Malley in the UFC so far, a KO/TKO victory at UFC 252. He has a 5-2 record in the octagon since that win, with wins over Rob Font, Frankie Edgar, and Dominick Cruz during that span. And despite having a 1-1 record in his last two fights, there are a few reasons to get behind Vera in this fight. The most obvious reason Vera has a shot in this fight is because he already beat O’Malley. But there is more. Styles make fights.

O’Malley climbed the bantamweight ranks and won the title in large part because of his striking. O’Malley prefers to keep the fight on the feet and batter his opponents with kicks and punches. This is the kind of style that Vera also seems to prefer. Vera does not mind trading strikes with his opponent, has knockout power, and has a strong chin. All of this gives Vera at least a puncher’s chance in this fight. Whether or not he can outstrike O’Malley for five rounds is still a question, but Vera only needs to land one good shot to put himself in position to win the title. He should have a good shot in this fight if he can hurt O’Malley and be strong on defence for at least a couple of rounds.

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