Marlon
Vera is confident that he’ll take the fight out of Sean
O’Malley in their upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship
bantamweight title clash.
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Vera (23-8) will meet O’Malley (17-1) in a rematch in the main
event at UFC 299 with O’Malley’s bantamweight title on the line.
“Chito” handed “Sugar” his lone pro defeat in 2020 by damaging his
foe’s peroneal nerve with leg kicks before subsequently securing
the finish with an onslaught of strikes at the 4:40 mark of the
opening frame.
Vera believes he will put a lopsided beating on the champ in their
rematch. While “Chito” acknowledges O’Malley’s athleticism and
knockout power, he believes the fight will go out of “Sugar” when
he gets into a “hard fight.”
“I beat the f-k out of him and walk away with a bag of cash and the
belt. I really believe I’m going to make him quit. I really believe
I’m going to make him just be a shell of himself and just kick his
ass, almost like beg me to stop kind of thing,” the 30-year-old
told Michael
Bisping on the „Believe You Me”
podcast.
“He’s a very talented guy. He can fight and everything, but I said
it before and I’ll say it again: He won’t keep up in a hard fight,”
Vera added. “He’s a guy that moves well, and he plans to use his
athleticism, and I’m going to make him fight. He will have to face
me.
“I’ll be ready. I’ll be prepared. I just know that the moment we
start fighting, I know everything I’ve been through, so I’m going
to get that belt. I’m going to go through him, I’m going to stop
him, and I’m going to be world champion.”
O’Malley
dismissed the loss to Vera as a fluke, only agreeing to accept
it if Vera can damage his peroneal nerve with similar accuracy in
the rematch.
The 29-year-old O’Malley dethroned Aljamain
Sterling with a highlight-reel Round 2 technical knockout at
UFC 292 in August and called for an immediate rematch against Vera
in the aftermath. Meanwhile, Vera is coming off a unanimous
decision win over Pedro
Munhoz on the same card.