Sean O’Malley is looking forward to getting a chance to get revenge over Marlon Vera in their bantamweight title fight at UFC 299 next month after being TKO’d by him back in 2020, but that being said he’s not actually convinced that the No.6 ranked ‘Chito’ deserves a shot at the belt.
“I’m honestly surprised that it’s happening in a sense,” O’Malley told Helen Yee. “I didn’t think that he would get to the title shot, and did he really deserve it after his performance over Pedro [Munhoz]? I don’t know, but I thought, you know what? It’s time that I take him out. So, here we are and it’s very exciting.”
And while he questions Vera’s title credentials, O’Malley does feel that given the past history between the two that this is the fight people most want to see.
“I think it’s the biggest fight in the division,” O’Malley said. “I think it’s an important fight from what happened the first time. I claimed that I’m undefeated and he claims that he beat me, so now March 9, we get to settle it to see who was right.”
As for how the rematch will go, O’Malley is confident that he’s got what it takes to avenge his loss and is looking to become the first person to stop Vera inside the distance.
“There’s a possibility it does [go the full 15 minutes]. He’s never been submitted, never been knocked out. He’s very, very durable. I just truly, truly believe that I’m on another level and going to bring a level of performance that the UFC has never even seen. I think I’m gonna hit a level that people will be shocked at, and I’m gonna put on a masterful, beautiful performance.
“We’ve seen ‘Aljo’ get knocked out, but we’ve just never seen ‘Chito’ get finished. That would be extra special.”