The stakes will be much greater when Sean
O’Malley and Marlon Vera
run it back.
UFC CEO Dana White announced Monday that O’Malley, the promotion’s
reigning bantamweight champion, will lock horns with Vera in a
rematch atop the UFC 299 lineup in March. An exact date and venue
for the event were not confirmed.
O’Malley suffered his lone professional defeat to Vera at UFC 252
in August 2020. In that bout, “Sugar” was hindered by an apparent
calf issue after absorbing a low kick before losing to Vera via
first-round technical knockout. The MMA Lab standout has since
rebounded to go unbeaten in his next six promotional appearances,
culminating in a second-round TKO of Aljamain
Sterling to claim 135-pound gold at UFC 292 this past
August.
Vera has won five of his last six fights in UFC competition — with
a split-decision defeat against Corey Sandhagen the only blemish on
his ledger during that time. In addition to besting O’Malley, Vera
owns notable wins over the likes of Pedro
Munhoz, Dominick
Cruz, Rob Font and
Frankie
Edgar.