Read about Sean O’Malley’s controversial claim about his only loss and his plans to avenge it. Will he get a rematch with Marlon Vera? Find out more.
| Sean O’Malley’s Controversial Loss |
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| Recently minted undisputed bantamweight champion, Sean O’Malley has made the outlandish claim that his sole professional mixed martial arts loss came by his entire own volition – insisting he allowed arch-rival, Marlon Vera to land a first round TKO win over him in 2020, in order to setup a potential title re-run at UFC 296 later this year. |
| Can Sean O’Malley avenge his 2020 loss to Marlon Vera? |
Sean O’Malley, the newly-crowned undisputed bantamweight champion, has stirred controversy by claiming that he intentionally lost his only professional MMA bout against Marlon Vera in 2020. O’Malley believes that this loss will set up a potential rematch with Vera at UFC 296. He aims to prove himself by avenging his defeat and securing a victory against his arch-rival. Follow along for more updates on this developing story.
Sean O’Malley’s Controversial Loss
Recently minted undisputed bantamweight champion, Sean O’Malley has made the outlandish claim that his sole professional mixed martial arts loss came by his entire own volition – insisting he allowed arch-rival, Marlon Vera to land a first round TKO win over him in 2020, in order to setup a potential title re-run at UFC 296 later this year.
O’Malley, the newly-crowned undisputed bantamweight champion, headlined UFC 292 back in August at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, defeating the incumbent, Aljamain Sterling with a stunning second round TKO victory.
The victory saw O’Malley become just the second Dana White’s Contender Series alum to land Octagon spoils, after light heavyweight striker, Jamahal Hill landed gold back in January in Brazil with a unanimous decision win over Glover Teixeira.
Vowing to return to the Octagon before the close of the year in a bid to headline UFC 296 in December, O’Malley, whose sole loss in MMA came back in 2020 courtesy of a first round TKO loss to the above-mentioned Ecuadorian finisher, Vera, claimed he lost the bout the Chone native “on purpose”.
“If I got to pick if I was running the show, I would say yes [a rematch with Vera was next], simply because ‘Chito’ is the biggest fight next, not because he had a beautiful performance over Pedro (Munhoz). That’s not the case. If I fight ‘Chito’ next, it’s because that’s what I want and that’s the biggest fight. I’m in the fight business and I want big fights.”
Can Sean O’Malley avenge his 2020 loss to Marlon Vera?
Ross Markey
Aspiring mixed martial arts reporter based in Ireland. Follow along at @Ross_Markey on Twitter for all the latest news, fight announcements, opinion, and feature pieces.
