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Cruises in first title defense
O'Malley successfully defended his UFC Bantamweight Championship on Saturday, defeating Marlon Vera via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-44) at UFC 299 in Miami.
ANALYSIS
Easy work. Making his first title defense, O'Malley dominated from start to finish, getting revenge on Vera for their August 2020 matchup in which Chito won via TKO after Sean suffered a foot injury. Any opponent that faces O'Malley simply cannot employ the game plan Vera did here. Sean is a truly exceptional striker with elite footwork and placement of his shots. Trying to outpoint him in a kickboxing match is literally never going to work. You have to either wrestle him -- which Vera never attempted -- or muck it up in an attempt to make things ugly, which Marlon didn't do enough of. O'Malley called for new UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria in his post-fight interview. While that would make for great television, by far the most likely outcome is that Suga's next fight is a title defense against nemesis Merab Dvalishvili. One thing we know about Merab is that he will never stop going for takedowns, so O'Malley would have to be prepared for a completely different type of opponent than he saw this evening.
Easy work. Making his first title defense, O'Malley dominated from start to finish, getting revenge on Vera for their August 2020 matchup in which Chito won via TKO after Sean suffered a foot injury. Any opponent that faces O'Malley simply cannot employ the game plan Vera did here. Sean is a truly exceptional striker with elite footwork and placement of his shots. Trying to outpoint him in a kickboxing match is literally never going to work. You have to either wrestle him -- which Vera never attempted -- or muck it up in an attempt to make things ugly, which Marlon didn't do enough of. O'Malley called for new UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria in his post-fight interview. While that would make for great television, by far the most likely outcome is that Suga's next fight is a title defense against nemesis Merab Dvalishvili. One thing we know about Merab is that he will never stop going for takedowns, so O'Malley would have to be prepared for a completely different type of opponent than he saw this evening.
Books matchup with Marlon Vera
O'Malley will defend his UFC Bantamweight Championship against Marlon Vera at UFC 299 in Miami on March 9 Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
O'Malley will look to enact revenge on Vera, who defeated him via TKO back in 2020. Since that fight, O'Malley has gone 5-0 (1 NC), a stretch that culminated with him winning the UFC Bantamweight Championship over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. Vera has held up relatively well in his own right, so the company had no problem scheduling what is expected to be a tensely built rematch between these two down the line.
O'Malley will look to enact revenge on Vera, who defeated him via TKO back in 2020. Since that fight, O'Malley has gone 5-0 (1 NC), a stretch that culminated with him winning the UFC Bantamweight Championship over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. Vera has held up relatively well in his own right, so the company had no problem scheduling what is expected to be a tensely built rematch between these two down the line.
Wins title with TKO as big underdog
O'Malley defeated Aljamain Sterling via TKO (punches) at 0:51 of Round 2 at UFC 292 on Saturday in Boston.
ANALYSIS
Not much happened in Round 1 of this fight, as both men jockeyed for position. It seemed clear early that O'Malley's plan was to hang back against "The Funk Master," likely to be able to defend takedowns more effectively. The strategy had a much bigger payoff than that, as "Suga" caught the champion with a picture-perfect right hand in the middle of a transition in Round 2. Sterling scrambled to recover, and while it looked like he was alert and defending effectively, referee Mark Goddard had seen enough after a few hard shots on the ground. While the stoppage may be questionable, O'Malley's place as a rightful champion isn't up for debate, as he hurt Sterling in a way we haven't seen since he was knocked out by Marlon Moraes in 2017. The thrilling stoppage would also go on to earn O'Malley a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. O'Malley seems to be patching up his deficiencies one-by-one, as he defended both of Sterling's takedown attempts, and generally seemed unaffected by the leg kicks that were so damaging to him just a few years ago. While this shakeup in the division doesn't provide a clear picture regarding the next challenger, it's a safe bet that O'Malley will be ready for whatever comes next.
Not much happened in Round 1 of this fight, as both men jockeyed for position. It seemed clear early that O'Malley's plan was to hang back against "The Funk Master," likely to be able to defend takedowns more effectively. The strategy had a much bigger payoff than that, as "Suga" caught the champion with a picture-perfect right hand in the middle of a transition in Round 2. Sterling scrambled to recover, and while it looked like he was alert and defending effectively, referee Mark Goddard had seen enough after a few hard shots on the ground. While the stoppage may be questionable, O'Malley's place as a rightful champion isn't up for debate, as he hurt Sterling in a way we haven't seen since he was knocked out by Marlon Moraes in 2017. The thrilling stoppage would also go on to earn O'Malley a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. O'Malley seems to be patching up his deficiencies one-by-one, as he defended both of Sterling's takedown attempts, and generally seemed unaffected by the leg kicks that were so damaging to him just a few years ago. While this shakeup in the division doesn't provide a clear picture regarding the next challenger, it's a safe bet that O'Malley will be ready for whatever comes next.
Aims for bantamweight title
O'Malley will fight Aljamain Sterling for the UFC Bantamweight Championship at UFC 292 on August 19 in Boston, Shaheed Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com reports Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
O'Malley will look to take the bantamweight title from Sterling, who defended it in early-May against Henry Cejudo. "Sugar" has won his last four contests, most recently a win via split decision against Petr Yan. He's earned his shot at the bantamweight title, and he'll get it in August, though look for him to enter as a sizable betting underdog. O'Malley can hang with any UFC 135-pounder on the feet, though Sterling represents a dangerous test in the wrestling/grappling department.
O'Malley will look to take the bantamweight title from Sterling, who defended it in early-May against Henry Cejudo. "Sugar" has won his last four contests, most recently a win via split decision against Petr Yan. He's earned his shot at the bantamweight title, and he'll get it in August, though look for him to enter as a sizable betting underdog. O'Malley can hang with any UFC 135-pounder on the feet, though Sterling represents a dangerous test in the wrestling/grappling department.
Signs contract extension
O'Malley has signed an eight-fight contract extension with UFC, Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
UFC president Dana White announced the news on Saturday, and O'Malley also confirmed the deal via his podcast. "I got a very gracious contract that I'm proud of," O'Malley said after being his own manager during the extension talks. "I got a number that I'm very happy with. I truly don't think any manager that I had could have went in there and got me what I got. That also helps with the relationship built with the UFC. I feel like I have earned this contract. I feel like I have earned the amount that I'm getting paid." "Sugar" owns an 8-1 record with one no-contest through 10 fights with the organization, and he's currently riding a five-fight unbeaten streak.
UFC president Dana White announced the news on Saturday, and O'Malley also confirmed the deal via his podcast. "I got a very gracious contract that I'm proud of," O'Malley said after being his own manager during the extension talks. "I got a number that I'm very happy with. I truly don't think any manager that I had could have went in there and got me what I got. That also helps with the relationship built with the UFC. I feel like I have earned this contract. I feel like I have earned the amount that I'm getting paid." "Sugar" owns an 8-1 record with one no-contest through 10 fights with the organization, and he's currently riding a five-fight unbeaten streak.