Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera pulled no punches in trashing the record of Sean O’Malley and doesn’t expect him to put up much of a challenge against Aljamain Sterling.
UFC superstar Sean O’Malley has emerged as one of the most popular fighters under the banner. He joined the promotion through Dana White’s Contender Series by knocking out Alfred Khashakyan in Jul. 2017. Known for his flair inside the octagon, O’Malley made a name for himself racking up impressive finishes over veteran Eddie Wineland, Thomas Almeida, and Kris Moutinho. The only blemish on his record is ‘Chito’ Vera, who defeated him at UFC 252 in Aug. 2020.
Following a hard-fought victory over former interim champion Petr Yan in his last outing, O’Malley earned a title shot against the reigning bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling.
‘Chito’ Vera says Sean O’Malley won’t be a ‘problem’ for Aljamain Sterling
In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, ‘Chito’ Vera shared his thoughts on the upcoming bout between Sean O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling.
“If you see accolades and who fought who, the fight shouldn’t be a problem for Sterling,” said Vera. “O’Malley can say whatever the f**k he can say, the two guys that have been in the top five that beat him or what.
“Me, I was one and I beat him, I put him out. Pedro Munhoz has been around and is a top five caliber guy, poke him in the eye and it was a no-contest in a fight that he didn’t show anything. I mean you get an opportunity to fight somebody in the top five like that, you try to go and smoke him.”
Vera trashes O’Malley’s record
‘Chito’ criticized ‘Suga’ Sean’s record. He argued O’Malley only holds win over lesser competition and is yet to beat a strong opponent.
“Then, the B-level competition, yeah he put all of them out. Almeida was washed a lot of times. He wasn’t washed out, he was super washed out. Eddie Wineland, respect to the guy, he’s a legend but he got KO’d like four or three more times.
“Then, the green haired kid couldn’t win a fight in the UFC. I get it. You got talent, all this hype, we’re in the YouTube TikTok era, you got a couple kids that follow you in that world but fighting wise, you didn’t fight nobody. And then you grab Yan after a no-contest. Yes, you look good in the Yan fight. People were expecting less from you.
“Yan can still fight but how good is he? Who has he beat? Who has he been in a fight with?”
Vera isn’t a fan of O’Malley’s flashy knockouts and believes it’s only a matter of time before he gets exposed against an elite fighter.
“That one punch thing won’t last forever. We saw with Johnny Hendricks, maybe three or four fights and after that… once you fight a better caliber of guys it just doesn’t happen like that. And on paper, it’s hard to think O’Malley is going to win but he could and that will only benefit me. But I’m not really rooting for nobody so we’ll see what happens. I’m ready.”
"How good is he? Who did he beat? Who has he been in a fight with? That one-punch [knockout] thing won’t last forever.”
'Chito' Vera talks Sean O'Malley on #TheMMAHour
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— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 21, 2023
Sean O’Malley will challenge Aljamain Sterling for the 135-pound gold at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
