Chito Vera’s first title fight didn’t go according to plan.
The UFC Bantamweight contender challenged for gold at UFC 299 when he took current champ and rival Sean O’Malley. Vera TKO’ed O’Malley in 2020, but the rematch went in the completely opposite direction four years later.
O‘Malley would piece up Vera for five rounds straight, peppering the Ecuadorian with brutal shots en route to a unanimous decision victory and his first successful title defense.
Dillashaw’s Not Surprised
It was a picture-perfect performance from ‘Sugar’ and despite rooting for Vera, former UFC Bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw expected as much.
“I’m a huge Chito fan, as a person, who he is as a person. I’ve trained a lot with Chito, and he’s a great human being. So going into this fight, I wanted Chito to win,” Dillashaw said on ‘The Jaxxon Podcast‘. “I didn’t think he was gonna win going into the fight because I think Sugar has gotten a lot better, and he’s more of a well rounded athlete than Chito. Chito’s tough, and he’s a fighter. I’ll get into why he didn’t win and what the problem was, but I knew going into his fight that O’Malley was gonna win.”
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‘Chito Was Biting On Every Feint’, Turned Into O’Malley’s ‘Punching Bag’
In contrast to O’Malley, Vera’s not getting showered with love for his performance on fight night. The title challenger couldn’t find his rhythm early on and was playing ‘catch-up’ for the majority of the five-round fight, being outstruck in almost every step of the way.
Dillashaw says the champ’s countless feints on Vera made all the difference in the striking department.
“The way he’s able to be ahead of Chito is because Chito was biting on every feint. A great fighter can sell his feints. He can make you believe in them, and he did a very good job of feinting,” Dillashaw said of O’Malley. “See all these little motions, these little micro-motions, his level changes, he’s moving his hand, he’s going to the body. Every time he did it, see how Chito covers up, looks away, and blocks, and shells up, you turn into a punching bag.
“You’re not gonna counter because you can’t see what’s going on. You’re like [shelled up], how are you gonna punch someone? Your defense isn’t there because you’re like this, right?
Dillashaw Says Vera Isn’t What He Used To Be
Vera took a carbon copy criticism from higher-ranked contender Cory Sandhagen, as he labeled his former foe as a ‘punching bag’ who had ‘no business’ stepping in the cage against Sean O’Malley at UFC 299.
Dillashaw wouldn’t reach that far, but the two-time champ says there are definitely parts of Vera’s game that have regressed over the years.
“Unfortunately, when I first started training with Chito, Chito had footwork. He used to be kinda hard to close distance on. I would try to hit him with something, and he would run away, like he would get distance. Unfortunately, he’s kinda gotten rid of that style completely.
“I do think he’s gotten a lot better, and he’s obviously he’s proved that with a lot of finishes he has and the boxing he’s done with Parillo. But, he completely abandoned footwork,” Dillashaw added. “He’s got his feet in the ground, and he’s shelling up every time O’Malley feints. By doing that, he’s a punching bag.”
