Almost four years ago, Sean O'Malley suffered the only loss of his career, and that came against Marlon ''Chito'' Vera. Tonight, he will try to prove that loss is a storm.
O'Malley (17-1) will defend his UFC bantamweight championship for the first time when he meets Vera (23-8-1) in the main event of UFC 299 at the Kazea Center in Miami. O'Malley lost by TKO in 2020 when a Vera leg kick numbed a nerve in his right leg. O'Malley has given credit to Vera for the kick, but has always maintained it wasn't a “real” loss due to the rarity of a nerve problem.
Both bantamweights have enjoyed a lot of success since then. O'Malley captured the 135-pound championship last August by defeating longtime champion Aljamine Sterling. Vera went 5-2 against multiple former champions Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz.
Prior to the main event, Dustin Poirier retained his spot in the lightweight division, knocking out rising prospect Benoit St. Denis in the second round, Michael “Venom” Page made a successful UFC debut with a decision victory over Kevin Holland, and defeated Jake Della Maddalena. Gilbert Burns and Petr Yan surged in the final two rounds to deny Zhang Yadong the top seed.
Here's how all the action from UFC 299 in Miami played out:
