- Sean O’Malley feels like Marlon Vera has done everything to get a rematch against him
- O’Malley needs to dispatch Pedro Munhoz first to get a fight against Vera
After witnessing a clinical performance by Marlon Vera against Rob Font last month, Sean O’Malley believes that ‘Chito’ deserves a rematch. It’s not very often that we get to see the vanquished athlete put on the winner’s outfit. Although still in denial, it seems like O’Malley is aiming for a fight against Vera in the near future.
Sean O’Malley wants to rematch ‘Chito’ Vera
‘Chito’ Vera sent ripples through the MMA community with a statement win over Rob Font at UFC on ESPN 35. Starting off rough in the first two rounds, Vera went on to drop Font three times throughout the contest. Font looked like he was about to get finished when he was saved by the bell on two occasions.
A patient ‘Chito’ dominated his opponent to snatch a unanimous decision win as he moves up the pecking order. While most were impressed with his performance, O’Malley has mixed feelings about the fight.
In an interview with Brett Okamoto for ESPN, Sean O’Malley shared his thoughts on ‘Chito’ Vera’s win over Font.
“I thought Rob might win, I really wasn’t sure about how the fight played out”
“Lately, I feel like (Vera) has earned it. He did lose to Aldo. He basically lost to Frankie (Edgar), he lost 13 minutes of the fight, he beat Frankie, and then just beat Rob. I feel like he’s earned a rematch. I think I go out there, finish Pedro (Munhoz), that’s a big fight. He’s earned his rematch.”
“People are going to think I’m a hater”
“His performance against Rob was impressive. We all know he’s durable. He’s definitely improving in his skills when you watch him from fight to fight.”
O’Malley’s first outing with ‘Chito’ Vera
‘Sugar’ Sean has been consistently working his way up through the ranks. As a hot prospect who broke out on the first season of Dana White’s Contender Series, O’Malley went on an impressive 12-fight unbeaten run. He had a lot of momentum going into his challenge against ‘Chito’ Vera in August 2020.
In a conflicted turn of events, Vera would halt the hype train of O’Malley by handing him his first-ever professional loss. The two were just starting to go at each other when Vera snatched the victory by technical knockout just seconds before the end of the first round.
Being two years separated from the initial bout, O’Malley has maintained his position of still being undefeated. He stated that Vera struck a nerve on his leg that caused the “freak” outcome. While he was initially against the idea of fighting Vera again, it looks like O’Malley has his eyes set on avenging the only blemish on his record.
“I don’t really feel like it’s a rematch. I don’t think our fight really got to play out at all”
“Our fight didn’t get to play out to where it’s like a rematch. If we fight, it’s going to be the first time we fight”
“He’s just durable. He’s got good skills and he’s getting better but he’s just durable. He’s just stupid tough”
UFC will likely be interested in having the two face off against each other once more given that O’Malley dispatches Munhoz in signature ‘Sugar’ style. The real question here is if Vera will be interested in competing against O’Malley as he eyes a fight against one of the top four ranked guys above him.