O’Malley: ‘I always knew I would have my revenge’

Miami will have one of the best UFC cards in 2024, headlined by the defense of bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley against the Ecuadorian Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, and two months before the fight at UFC 299, ‘Suga’ enjoys his first PPV. as protagonist.

“Since my first fight I have felt like a star. I have been to more than 10 PPVs, perhaps it was not the main fight, but it was the one with maximum attraction. This time [at UFC 299] it’s bigger, the previous one Aljo (Aljamain Sterling) was the champion, so this is my first PPV in the sense of receiving PPV points.”

For ‘Suga’ (17-1), who lost his undefeated streak with Chito in 2020 via technical knockout, the rematch with Vera (21-8-1) was destined to come.

“I always thought we would have this fight again. I said that when I become champion, and if the opportunity was won, we would have revenge. Does he deserve it after the pathetic performance against Pedro Munhoz? Not really, but I want to get my hands on it, get this over with and move on to what’s next,” he added.

O’Malley promises a left-handed knockout to the Ecuadorian, and already has his sights set on a super fight against Ilia Topuria, who he sees with a chance of beating Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 297.

“If anyone can beat Volk it’s Ilia. He is a terrifying striker and a good fighter, mentally he is as sharp as can be. I might say he’s slow or dumb, but Ilia knows how to fight. I like that he’s 5’3″, he’s short for a champion vs. champion fight. I love that fight for me,” he admitted.

In O’Malley’s master plan, that belt-on-belt fight would take place at the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas, where UFC CEO Dana White plans to hold the first UFC – and sporting event in general – in September. , as part of the celebration. of the Mexican Independence weekend.

“Who better to lead this massive show?” said the monarch.

Before that, O’Malley has his work cut out for him at UFC 299 from Miami, a marquee event that will also feature the five-round lightweight showdown between Dustin Poirier and France’s Benoit Saint Denis as a co-feature. The card also features the debut of former Bellator Michael ‘Venom’ Page against Kevin Holland, the welterweight fight between Jack Della Maddalena and Gilbert Burns, the fight of former bantamweight champion Petr Yan against Song Yadong and the debut of the medalist. Cuban Olympian Robelis Despaigne against Josh Parisian among the most attractive fights on the show.