Sean O’Malley avenged the only defeat of his professional career on Saturday, outpointing Marlon Vera to retain his bantamweight title at UFC 299.
It was a masterclass by “Sugar Sean”, who outstruck “Chito” across five rounds to secure a unanimous-decision win (50-45, 50-45, 50-44). With the victory, O’Malley made his first title defence a successful one, having knocked out Aljamain Sterling to win the title in August. The American also took revenge upon Vera, who beat him via TKO in 2020.
The standout moment of the fight saw O’Malley drill a knee into his challenger’s face in round two – a shot that the Ecuadorian somehow survived. O’Malley then dropped Vera to a knee just before the buzzer signaled the end of the round.
Vera, 31, showed spirit to muster a decent spell of offence at the end of round three and early in round four, with O’Malley briefly retreating. However, the champion hurt Vera with a cross in the fifth and final round and saw out a clinical performance in the remaining minutes.
Re-live updates and results from the UFC 299 main card and prelims, below.
UFC 299 LIVE: Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera
That’s all from us! Thanks for following our live coverage of UFC 299!
Until the next one, the big one: UFC 300 in April…
Alex Pattle10 March 2024 08:45
UFC 299 LIVE: Sean O’Malley vs Chito Vera
Should “Sugar Sean” enter our pound-for-pound top 10 when the rankings are updated on Monday?
Alex Pattle10 March 2024 08:30
UFC 299 LIVE: Dustin Poirier fights through adversity to KO Benoit Saint-Denis
What a comeback by Dustin Poirier tonight – both within his fight against Benoit Saint-Denis and in general, following his knockout loss to Justin Gaethje last time out.
Alex Pattle10 March 2024 08:10
UFC 299 LIVE: Dana White reacts to Francis Ngannou’s KO by Anthony Joshua
Full story as Dana White reacts to Francis Ngannou’s knockout loss to Anthony Joshua:
Alex Pattle10 March 2024 07:55
UFC 299 LIVE: Dana White reacts to Francis Ngannou’s KO by Anthony Joshua
UFC president Dana White, a known critic of ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou, is asked about the Cameroonian’s KO loss to Anthony Joshua from last night:
“I did not [see it]. I mean, I saw it on social media.
“Going into the [Tyson] Fury fight… If Fury trained for the fight and didn’t show up and look like he ate Tyson Fury, that’s probably the way that fight would’ve gone, too.
“You know how I feel about the crossover fights in boxing. That’s how they end.”
Ngannou was knocked down by Joshua three times in two rounds on Friday, with the final knockdown putting the MMA heavyweight out cold.
In October, Ngannou made his boxing debut against Fury, losing a controversial decision after dropping the WBC champion.
Alex Pattle10 March 2024 07:40
UFC 299 LIVE: Sean O’Malley vs Chito Vera
Alex Pattle10 March 2024 07:30
UFC 299 LIVE: Sean O’Malley vs Chito Vera
Alex Pattle10 March 2024 07:10
UFC 299 LIVE: Sean O’Malley vs Chito Vera
Alex Pattle10 March 2024 06:51
UFC 299 LIVE: Sean O’Malley vs Chito Vera
Here’s our full report from tonight’s main event:
Alex Pattle10 March 2024 06:39
UFC 299 LIVE: Sean O’Malley vs Chito Vera
Vera’s face is soooo badly swollen. He thanks the Ecuadorian fans for travelling to watch him.
Alex Pattle10 March 2024 06:27
