Sean O’Malley claims he ‘GIFTED’ Chito Vera title shot to avenge only loss on professional record

UFC bantamweight champion, Sean O'Malley talks about his upcoming title defense against Marlon Vera at UFC 299.

Sean O’Malley claims he ‘GIFTED’ Chito Vera title shot to avenge only loss on professional record

Sean O'Malley on Marlon Vera getting the title shot ( Image via Imago )

Sean O’Malley is coming up with his first title defense since becoming the UFC bantamweight champion. He will face his former rival Marlon Vera, the only fighter to beat him in the UFC. Here is what O’Malley said about their upcoming fight at UFC 299:

Sean O’Malley recently did an interview with ESPN. There he said that Marlon Vera was gifted this upcoming title shot at UFC 299. O’Malley said: “

I don’t think it’s gonna phase him that he’s being gifted this title shot. Do I think he knows that? Yeah. He knows he didn’t go out there — he didn’t even finish Pedro. I beat Pedro in two rounds. So, there’s no way he’s coming off this like, ‘I earned this title fight.’ He knows he’s getting this title fight because I’m champ.
Sean O’Malley via ESPN
YouTube video

Sean O’Malley lost to Marlon Vera in the first round by TKO during their fight at UFC 252. It was O’Malley’s first and only career loss. O’Malley has since claimed that the loss was an accident and that he was not 100% healthy going into the fight. However, Vera said that he simply outworked O’Malley on that night. O’Malley will now face Marlon Vera this March in a rematch at UFC 299.

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Sean O’Malley won the UFC bantamweight championship by defeating Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. The fight was the main event held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sterling had multiple title defenses to his name. However, O’Malley quickly turned the fight around and knocked Aljamain Sterling down. This was O’Malley’s fifth win in his last six fights and also earned him his first UFC title.

Fans react to Sean O’Malley saying Marlon Vera was gifted title shot at UFC 299

The news of Sean O’Malley saying that Marlon Vera was gifted the title shot at UFC 299 caught the attention of fans on social media. People went to the comment section to share their reactions to his comments. Here are some of the reactions from X:

Sean O'Malley discredits Marlon Vera's win over him
Sean O’Malley discredits Marlon Vera’s win over him (via MMA Mania)
https://twitter.com/RoyalTHFC/status/1764663821191274760
https://twitter.com/Clausenextothex/status/1764662871638868037

Fans were amused by Suga’s comments about Marlon Vera. Some people accused him of dodging a rematch against Sterling while others wrote that O’Malley wanted an easy win. It will be interesting to see how the fight goes down in the octagon this March at UFC 299.

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