Marlon Vera Unfazed by Sean O’Malley’s Mind Games Ahead of UFC 299

Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera bump into each other and talk trash at the UFC hotel pic.twitter.com/yw0B0GSpR6

— Oscar Willis (@oscarswillis) March 6, 2024

Marlon Vera says he is ready for everything Sean O'Malley has to throw at him leading into their UFC 299 rematch.

Vera (23-8) will challenge O’Malley (17-1) for the bantamweight title in the main event at UFC 299 on Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami. During media day, O’Malley informed reporters about direct messages he exchanged with Vera and prompted them to press “Chito” for more information.

When asked, Vera didn’t divulge the exact texts but gave an overview of what transpired.

“He was just trying to get to my head. The text wasn’t weird. He’s a weirdo, so I’m like, I’m not going to engage with you on [in] a conversation. That’s why I sent a selfie back smiling.”

Vera is well aware of O’Malley’s mind games and is seemingly prepared to trade barbs with “Sugar.” During an awkward run-in at the fighter hotel, Vera asked O’Malley to “s*ck his d*ck” in response to “Sugar” asking if he was ready to lose. Vera didn’t know the interaction was caught on camera and brought it up during the media day.

“I get it. One of his main tools is getting in people’s heads,” Vera said. “Good luck with that. I’m going to f*** you up. I’m prepared for Saturday night. So he’s trying to start things. Yesterday, he asked me if I was ready to lose the fight. They didn’t catch my answer. I would have loved the camera to catch what I said back to him, but they only got one side. But that’s just one tool to the game. I’m ready for a fight. My mind is in the right place and I’m going to kick his ass.” O’Malley suffered the lone loss of his career against Vera back in 2020 after a leg kick from “Chito” left his lead leg compromised. “Sugar” dismisses the loss as a fluke to this day and has agreed to accept it only if Vera can take away his leg once again. O’Malley is also already eyeing a clash against newly-crowned featherweight champ Ilia Topuria. Asked if Vera thinks the reigning champion is looking past him, the Ecuadorian claims to be unbothered by absolutely anything his opponent is doing.

“I don’t give two f*cks about what he’s doing, who he talks for,” Vera said. “I focus [on] myself, I focus [on] my schedule, my training, my body, my mind and whatever he’s doing, I don’t give two f**ks about him or his life.”

However, Vera doesn’t mind things heating up a little before the fight and is ready for a slugfest.

“Brother, I’m a street fighter dude. Honestly I don’t give two f*cks. If you want to throw down, we throw down. I don’t grow up in a pu*sy ass environment like him. So if he wants to throw down, he or his team, trust me, I don’t give two f*cks dude.”

O’Malley is known for his extravagant hairdos and mostly colorful appearance. Vera took a dig at O’Malley’s style and that of his entire team, hinting that they belong to the LGBTQ community.

“I’m going to get in there and I’m going to drill a hole through his face. Then what? There’s no talking in there. I know his corner likes to [talk] when we’re in there, but I would love my corner to give me advice to win the fight. If my corner is more concerned about talking sh*t about my opponent and they don’t tell me what to do, I wouldn’t be with those people. But the whole circle: I mean it’s just like, it’s all a full rainbow in there, right? And we know what it stands for these days.”