Marlon Vera Believes Sean O’Malley Will Almost ‘Beg’ Him to Stop at UFC 299

Marlon Vera is confident that he’ll take the fight out of Sean O’Malley in their upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title clash.

Vera (23-8) will meet O’Malley (17-1) in a rematch in the main event at UFC 299 with O’Malley's bantamweight title on the line. “Chito” handed “Sugar” his lone pro defeat in 2020 by damaging his foe’s peroneal nerve with leg kicks before subsequently securing the finish with an onslaught of strikes at the 4:40 mark of the opening frame.

Vera believes he will put a lopsided beating on the champ in their rematch. While “Chito” acknowledges O’Malley’s athleticism and knockout power, he believes the fight will go out of “Sugar” when he gets into a “hard fight.”

“I beat the f-k out of him and walk away with a bag of cash and the belt. I really believe I’m going to make him quit. I really believe I’m going to make him just be a shell of himself and just kick his ass, almost like beg me to stop kind of thing,” the 30-year-old told Michael Bisping on the "Believe You Me” podcast.

“He’s a very talented guy. He can fight and everything, but I said it before and I’ll say it again: He won’t keep up in a hard fight,” Vera added. “He’s a guy that moves well, and he plans to use his athleticism, and I’m going to make him fight. He will have to face me.

“I’ll be ready. I’ll be prepared. I just know that the moment we start fighting, I know everything I’ve been through, so I’m going to get that belt. I’m going to go through him, I’m going to stop him, and I’m going to be world champion.”

O’Malley dismissed the loss to Vera as a fluke, only agreeing to accept it if Vera can damage his peroneal nerve with similar accuracy in the rematch.

The 29-year-old O’Malley dethroned Aljamain Sterling with a highlight-reel Round 2 technical knockout at UFC 292 in August and called for an immediate rematch against Vera in the aftermath. Meanwhile, Vera is coming off a unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz on the same card.