Aljamain Sterling offered detailed advice to Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera about how to defeat Sean O’Malley.
In August 2023, O’Malley made history in the UFC 292 main event by dethroning Sterling of the UFC bantamweight title with a second-round knockout. Earlier that night, ‘Chito’ solidified himself as the next 135-pound title contender by defeating Pedro Munhoz by unanimous decision.
Later this week, Vera looks to defeat O’Malley for a second time. The highly-anticipated rematch will take place in the UFC 299 main event, which goes down inside the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Former bantamweight king Aljamain Sterling recently released a YouTube video breaking down O’Malley vs. Vera 2. Sterling offered the following advice to ‘Chito’ about how to dethrone the American superstar from his 135-pound throne:
“I think if you’re Chito, you fight this motherf*cker boring. You can’t fight him aggressive and try to be exciting because he’s too good at what he does. If I’m Chito, brother, I’m giving you the goods. I don’t know if you have your coaches breaking this sh*t down, but I’m telling you straight up, watch the Pedro [Munhoz] fight, watch the [Petr] Yan fight. Look at the only times that O’Malley was able to capitalize on strikes, and it’s when the guy gets over aggressive or pushes forward.”
Sterling continued:
“Yeah, you might catch him against the cage. The only time you should catch him is when you push him against the cage. If you can slowly chip away, but in space, that’s where he does his best work, so you got to be careful of thos types of things. He does a good job floating on his feet and looking for his counters…I think if Chito can’t adjust to that, I think O’Malley wins. If Chito is able to be smart and be patient, I think he could win a boring fight, but I just don’t know if he’s going to be that patient enough.’
Aljamain Sterling predicts split decision ending in UFC 299 main event
In October 2022, Sean O’Malley defeated Petr Yan with the lone split decision win of his career to earn a bantamweight title shot. Heading into UFC 299, most people are predicting a KO/TKO victory for ‘Sugar,’ but Aljamain Sterling believes the fight could end with a similar result to O’Malley’s close decision against Yan.
During the previously mentioned YouTube video, Sterling had this to say about his final prediction for O’Malley vs. Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera 2:
“O’Malley is the more skilled fighter, 100%, but I just think there’s the intangibles like someone’s durability, their heart, and the cardio aspect that I think people are overlooking. I feel like Chito has that. The only thing I’m concerned about is that I’m hearing through the grape vines that [Chito] didn’t really have a great camp or a lot of guys I train with. I don’t know how true that is, so with that said, I’m leaning towards O’Malley to get it done. I’m gonna say I don’t think he finishes him. By decision? Maybe split decision. I’m saying split decision.”
Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera halted Sean O’Malley’s momentum by knocking him out in round one of their 2020 bout. Several years later, O’Malley plans to intensify his star power by avenging his loss and securing his first title defense. Only time will tell if ‘Sugar’ can get the job done against his durable Ecuadorian rival.
Watch Sterling break down O’Malley vs. Vera 2 below:
