WATCH: Chito Vera fans’ BLARING cheers silence UFC 299 star Sean O’Malley at press conference
UFC 299 is a day away, which sees current champion Sean O'Malley make his maiden defense.
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Fan support for UFC 299's title challenger Marlon Vera, surprises Sean O'Malley (Source: IMAGO/Instagram)
UFC 299 (Pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami. In just over a day’s time, Sean O’Malley runs things back with a former foe. At 17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC currently, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera being the ‘1’ in his record irks the current champ. ‘Chito’ Vera marks the sole skid in his pro-MMA career before his TKO win at UFC 292 (Aug. 19, 2023). Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera and ‘Suga‘ had their ceremonial weigh-ins and pre-fight conference staredowns in Miami.
The official main-event face-off between the champion and title challenger Vera saw the exchange of words. However, they maintained their calm. Contrarily, mid-speech of O’Malley’s thoughts on a rematch, a raucous Miami crowd kept cheering for Vera. While the Ecuadorian welcomed it with a gesture, O’Malley sat somewhat stunned at the massive response.
The duo has been engaging in substantial banter, firing shots at each other. One of them saw the fighters engage in a mild altercation at the UFC Host Hotel, stepping into the official Fight Week. However, as the footage would prove, Sean O’Malley does not hold quite the edge over his rival as he would think.
The champ, however, plans to muddle through. During UFC 299’s Fight Week Media Day presser, he mentioned aiming to do what he would have done before his perennial nerve injury, thus subsequently securing a win. Only time will tell if the 135lber can live up to his plans and predictions.
UFC 299 Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera II: Weigh-in results
The official UFC 299 weigh-ins took place Friday at the UFC Host Hotel in Miami. All 28 fighters hit the scales ahead of Saturday’s event. Currently, backup fighter Merab Dvalishvili has agreed to cue in for the main event, if champion Sean O’Malley or 23-8-1 MMA, 15-7 UFC challenger Marlon Vera fails to perform.
The 5-round co-mains see Dustin Poirier return to action against military veteran Benoit Saint-Denis.
Concurrently, the card also sees the debut of electrifying prospect Michael ‘Venom’ Page (of Bellator MMA fame). He made his first official UFC weigh-in for his welterweight bout vs. 25-10 veteran Kevin Holland.
Main Card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET):
- Sean O’Malley (135lbs) vs. Marlon Vera (135lbs)
- Dustin Poirier (156lbs) vs. Benoit Saint-Denis (155lbs)
- Kevin Holland (170lbs) vs. Michael Page (170lbs)
- Gilbert Burns (171lbs) vs. Jack Della Maddalena (170lbs)
- Yadong Song (136lbs) vs. Petr Yan (135lbs)
Additionally, for the Prelim Card (ESPNews/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET) –
- Jailton Almeida (261lbs) vs. Curtis Blaydes (257lbs)
- Maycee Barber (125lbs) vs. Katlyn Cerminara (125lbs)
- Rafael dos Anjos (156lbs) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (156lbs)
- Pedro Munhoz (135lbs) vs. Kyler Phillips (135lbs)
[1st prelim (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)]
- Ion Cutelaba (205lbs) vs. Philipe Lins (206lbs)
- Michal Oleksiejczuk (185lbs) vs. Michel Pereira (186lbs)
- Robelis Despaigne (261lbs) vs. Josh Parisian (266lbs)
- Asu Almabaev (126lbs) vs. CJ Vergara (127lbs)
- Maryna Moroz (126lbs) vs. Joanne Wood (125lbs)
CJ Vergara weighed in above the flyweight limit of 126 pounds.
Cageside Press reported that the Florida State Athletic Commission stipulated all fighters step on the scale within the primary hour and only weigh in during the second hour if they miss weight on first attempt.
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