Sean O'Malley vs Marlon Vera II: How to Watch, Betting Odds & Prediction
(Featured image: Alamy Images)
UFC299 takes place at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on Sunday morning as reigning UFC Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley rematches rival Marlon Vera.
How to Watch O'Malley vs Vera II in the UK
UK viewers can watch the fight on TNT Sports 2, with the prelims beginning at 1:00 am on Sunday morning. The main card is expected to begin at around 3:00am.
O'Malley Makes First Defence of Bantamweight Crown
The fight will be O'Malley's first defence since claiming the belt against former titleholder Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August.
‘Suga’ Sean surprised fans with a first round knockdown which was followed up by a series of hammer fists which forced the referee to call the fight, much to the displeasure of his opponent Sterling at the time.
Meet the Fighters
Standing at 5’11’’, O’Malley is predominantly a striker, with a reach of 72 inches, and has serious ability to knock his opponents out, with a record of 17-1-0 (1 NC).
Marlon Vera meanwhile holds a record of 23-8-1, and is slightly smaller, standing at 5’8’’ with a reach of 70 inches. Vera is a specialist in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
History
O’Malley has already faced Marlon Vera once before back in 2020, with the Ecuadorian coming out on top that night. A first-round stoppage after a number of pummelling elbows handed the current champion his first loss in professional MMA.
The two haven’t been able to keep each other’s names out of their mouths since as the two prepare to face-off again in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Recent Form
Vera bounced back from a split-decision loss to Corey Sandhagen with a dominant unanimous-decision win over Pedro Munhoz. Prior to the Sandhagen loss in March last year, Vera went on a four-match win streak, beating former champions Dominick Cruz and Frankie Edgar in that run.
Meanwhile, the champ has not lost in his previous six fights, one being a no contest against Munhoz. In the five fights O'Malley has won, he has beaten formidable opponents in Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling, with a finish percentage of 80% across those fights. Vera remains the only man to beat O'Malley in his career.
Main Undercard:
Dustin Poirier vs Benoit Saint Denis - Lightweight
Kevin Holland vs Michael Page - Welterweight
Gilbert Burns vs Jack Della Maddalena - Welterweight
Petr Yan vs Yang Sadong - Bantamweight
Betting Odds:
Despite his loss to Vera four years ago, O'Malley enters a firm favourite heading into Sunday morning. Betfair offer the champion to defend his title outright at 2/5 (an implied probability of 71.43%). The underdog Vera comes in at 9/4 with BetMGM, carrying an implied probability of 30.77%.
Prediction:
It’s hard to look past O’Malley’s significant reach advantage and recent run of wins he has been on. OddsNow expect the champion to finish Vera inside the distance.