Sean O’Malley put on a tremendous display of striking to defeat Ecuador’s Marlon “Chito” Vera by unanimous decision and retain his bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 299 at Miami’s Kaseya Centre on Saturday night.
O’Malley, who beat Aljamain Sterling to claim the title back in August 2023, suffered the only loss of his pro career to Vera, going down in the first round of their August 2023 bout after suffering a foot injury that impaired his movement.
The re-match proved a different proposition as American O’Malley stayed out of trouble by putting on a striking mastercalass, mixing up his shots to the head and body and landing a thunderous knee that opened a cut under Vera’s eye late in the second round.
Behind on the scorecards, Vera bounced back in the fourth frame, but O’Malley’s fluid movement kept him out of harm’s way and he took over again in the fifth and final round to cruise to victory.
“Chito’s as tough as it gets, it feels good getting that one back,” O’Malley said in a post-fight interview in the cage before calling out featherweight champ Ilia Topuria.
Spain’s Topuria claimed the belt with a second-round knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski in February, prompting O’Malley to call on the UFC to fly him there for a showdown.
“I’m here for whatever … but that’s an exciting fight for the people,” he said.
In the co-main event, former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier scored a superb second-round knockout to defeat Benoit Saint Denis, flooring the Frenchman with a right hook midway through the second frame to end the fight.
Saint Denis, a former operative in the French special forces, set a frenetic pace throughout and looked dominant until American Poirier turned the tide with his boxing, landing the thunderous shots that paved the way to his KO win.
“I was getting beat up a little bit and getting rolled out by this guy,” Poirier said. “I got him at the end. I touched him a couple times at the beginning but he was pretty strong.”
Saint Denis, a former member of the French Army Special Forces Command, rode a win streak of five straight fights — all by finish — and was having his way with Poirier in their all-action affair behind constant pressure, physicality, body kicks and combination punching.
“I took this fight because he finished his last five opponents,” Poirier said. “He’s not a name everybody knows but he is on his way up and he’s dangerous.
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“He has a never say die attitude and I told myself that I have to take this fight. Hold your position or lose it, that’s the nature of the beast. That’s what we do.
“I’m just a man. I’ve got a lot of respect for Benoit Saint Denis and his grit,” said Poirier.