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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Sean O’Malley never wanted to count a past loss to Marlon “Chito” Vera on his record but he still got his revenge with a dominant performance in the UFC 299 main event.

If not for Vera’s iron chin and unbreakable will, O’Malley would have almost assuredly gone home with a finish on his record but instead he’ll leave Miami with a lopsided unanimous decision win. Round after round, O’Malley blasted away with a devastating arsenal on the feet and by the end of the fight Vera was busted up, bloodied and swelled to the point where it looked like his face got attacked by a swarm of bees.

The judges scored the fight 50-45, 50-45 and 50-44 with O’Malley successfully defending his title and erasing any doubt about his superiority in the rivalry with Vera.

“Chito’s as tough as they get,” O’Malley said about his win. “I guess we can all agree I’m undefeated still.”

It was a technical masterpiece from O’Malley as he beat Vera in every facet of the striking game without the fight ever hitting the floor over five rounds.

A sniper from the outside, O’Malley committed to his kicking game and then reaching with a long jab that kept finding a home on Vera’s chin. O’Malley also jabbed to the body to keep Vera guessing but never overextended himself to catch a potential knockout counter punch coming back at him from the challenger.

O’Malley continuously varied his attacks, going up top to the head with punches and kicks then digging to the body again. Vera just seemed to be a step behind O’Malley, who was the faster and more accurate striker on the feet.

With just over a minute left in the second round, O’Malley uncorked a massive knee strike up the middle that blasted Vere and snapped his head back in a violent motion. Still, Vera stayed stoic in the face of danger but O’Malley was just picking him apart and facing little resistance to his offensive onslaught.

“I felt something in his face break,” O’Malley said about the knee that blasted Vera. “I felt like something snapped.”

Vera struggled to make O’Malley pay for his high volume striking assault and by the midway point of the third round, he had a cut and significant swelling under his right eye from all the damage done. O’Malley didn’t slow down and never gave an inch as he continued to chip away at Vera in every exchange.

Realizing that time was running out on him, Vera finally started getting more aggressive while trying to make it a gritty fight, which is where he had his best chance to win. Vera connected with a few stiff shots, which resulted in blood trickling out of O’Malley’s nose but the champion escaped before he ever ate anything he couldn’t handle.

Even with Vera having his best moments in the fight, O’Malley was still the far better striker, especially in the numbers game where he was just outlanding his opponent by a wide margin.

With five minutes remaining, O’Malley didn’t take his foot off the gas as he kept coming after Vera including a right hand that stung Vera with a fist directly to his eye. Vera began covering up just trying to avoid a potential finish with O’Malley stalking him across the octagon.

O’Malley was doing anything but playing it safe as he continued to look for the knockout but Vera just refused to go down. It was a brilliant performance from O’Malley from start to finish as he decimated the only person to ever put a loss on his record.

Vera gave credit to O’Malley on a job well done but promised that this won’t be the last time he’ll compete for UFC gold before his career is over.

“I’ll be back,” Vera said. “I’ll be champion one day. O’Malley, I always said he was a great fighter. We can talk s*** to each other, but I know he’s a good striker. I tried to stay toe-to-toe with him to catch him. He did well. He did better than me. We’ll be back.”

As far as what’s next for O’Malley, he’s still holding out hope that the UFC will allow him to change divisions and seek a second title to add to his collection but it’s tough to imagine that will happen with top ranked challenger Merab Dvalishvili waiting in the wings.

“Dana [White], get me a jet to Spain. I’m coming for Ilia Topuria,” O’Malley shouted. “I want Ilia, give me Ilia. He’s a scary f****** dude. Ilia excites me, going up a weight class excites me.

“Honestly, I’m here for whatever, If you guys want me to knock out Merab, I’ll do that, too but Ilia’s an exciting fight for the people.”

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Following the UFC 299 fights on Saturday in Miami, Fla., UFC CEO Dana White announced bonus winners during the event’s post-fight press conference.

Sean O’Malley, Dustin Poirier, Benoit Saint Denis, Jack Dela Maddalena, Curtis Blaydes, and Robelis Despaigne each banked an extra $ 50,000 for their wins.  

“Fight of the Night, Dustin and Benoit.  Performance of the Night, O’Malley, and we gave everybody who had a finish $ 50,000,” said White.

Fight of the Night 

Fight of the Night honors went to the co-main event.  Former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier faced the rising Benoit Saint Denis.  After taking damage in the opening round, Poirier stopped Saint Denis midway through the second round.  

Performance of the Night

Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley took home a bonus for his dominating win over Marlon “Chito” Vera in the UFC 299 main event. 

O’Malley put on a master class of striking and footwork on his way to a one-sided unanimous decision.  “Sugar” battered and bloodied Vera landing more than twice as many strikes.    

Performance of the Night

Welterweight Jack Della Maddalena picked up the biggest win of his career on the UFC 299 main card.  He came from behind and finished fourth-ranked Gilbert Burns late in the final round.  

After being behind on the scorecards due to Burns’ takedown abilities, Maddalena connected with a knee that badly hurt “Durinho.”  Burns fell to the canvas and Maddalena finished the fight with a series of elbows.  

Performance of the Night

Heavyweight Curtis Blaydes earned a bonus for his second-round knockout win over Jailton Almeida in the featured UFC 299 preliminary card bout.  Almeida dominated Blaydes in the opening round taking him down nine times.  Early in the second frame, Almeida went for a takedown and Blaydes let loose with a series of elbows that ended the fight.  

Performance of the Night

Heavyweight Robelis Despaigne took home a bonus check for his 18-second TKO win over Josh Parisian on the early preliminary card.  Parisian hurt Despaigne with a punch.  As he moved in to look for the finish, Despaigne connected with a right hand that put Parisian on the canvas.  

UFC 299 was the highest grossing event in Kaseya Center history and the fourth highest grossing UFC event of all time.  19,165 spectators filled the arena bringing in a staggering $ 14.4 million gate.

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UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Sean O’Malley is still the UFC bantamweight champion after delivering a spectacular bell-to-bell performance in his first title defense, a rematch with Marlon Vera in the main event of UFC 299. After sweeping scorecards for all three judges, will O’Malley’s next fight be a title defense against Merab Dvalishvili, or will “The Sugar Show” head to the featherweight division for a clash with new champ Ilia Topuria?

Following Saturday’s memorable night of fights in Miami, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Jed Meshew, and Eric Jackman react to O’Malley’s tremendous showing, his post-fight callout of Topuria, and how he matches up with Dvalishvili.

Additionally, the panel discuss Dustin Poirier’s highlight-reel knockout of Benoit Saint Denis, Michael Page’s successful UFC debut against Kevin Holland and where “MVP” goes, Jack Della Maddalena’s comeback finish of Gilbert Burns, Petr Yan getting back on track with a hard fought win over Song Yadong, and more.

Watch the UFC 299 post-fight show above, or an audio-only version of the show can also be streamed below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your pods.

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UFC

Last night (Sat., March 9, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida for UFC 299. Though only one title was on the line, this fight card was about as stacked as they come! Even early in the “Prelims,” there were interesting notes like the debut of a Cuban Taekwondo Olympic medalist, as well as proven finishers like Michel Pereira and Ion Cutelaba. When former main event athletes like Curtis Blaydes and Rafael dos Anjos are on the undercard, you just know it’s going to be a great night of combat!

Let’s take a look back over at UFC 299’s best performances and techniques:

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

An O’Malley Masterclass

Sean O’Malley just put forth a pretty compelling argument that he’s the best striker in the UFC right now. I know, I know, Alex Pereira exists … but is the Brazilian the best, or is he just gifted with ungodly power?

Let me focus back on “Suga,” who absolutely showed out at the expense of Marlon Vera. For five full rounds, he picked apart Vera, mostly with apparent ease. He landed a knee in the second round with the resounding crack of a genuine home run hit, and it’s only because of Vera’s remarkable durability that we were able to witness the full extent of O’Malley’s standup prowess.

O’Malley does a lot of flashy techniques to great effect, but time and time again, it comes back to boxing. From both stances, O’Malley boxed remarkably well. He jabbed up Vera with both hands, feinted the jab, and consistently stayed a step ahead of Vera with his angles and pivots. Vera was constantly turning to face O’Malley and getting stabbed with punches for his efforts, and any time Vera advanced on a retreating champion, O’Malley would still flick him with the jab.

O’Malley’s body work was gorgeous here as well. Vera is known for being difficult to hit cleanly, so O’Malley and his team wisely adjusted strategy and spent long portions of the fight ripping crosses into his mid-section. Vera may be a cardio machine, but nobody runs marathons getting hit in the gut every quarter mile. O’Malley successfully slowed “Chito” down with his body work, as well as setting up future connections upstairs off the level change, like the aforementioned knee and numerous overhands.

Speed, volume, accuracy, technique, strategy — O’Malley was on fire last night. He’s a special fighter. Merab Dvalishvili may present an entirely different challenge and is a remarkable athlete in his own right, but it’s hard to feel confident in any Bantamweight against “Suga” after this master class.

He’s not even 30 yet.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The Diamond Endures

It’s rare that a fight is a two-way ass-beating.

For most of seven minutes, Benoit Saint Denis was abusing Dustin Poirier. Poirier fans around the globe cringed as Poirier repeatedly jumped for the guillotine, even after his coaches begged him to focus on the face-punching. Between those gilly attempts, Saint Denis was chasing Poirier around the Octagon and landing really nasty shots. Combination punches, dirty knees and elbows from the clinch, heavy kicks at range — Saint Denis attacked all targets with equal vigor and then wrestled relentlessly behind his offense.

Both men were fatigued by the second, but Poirier seemed to be fading worse. Nevertheless, he managed to escape from back mount, and this time, he used a guillotine attempt to ward off a takedown attempt rather than pull guard. Saint Denis was tired and on his feet with “The Diamond,” still pressuring … as is his nature.

If we know anything from more than a decade of watching Poirier in the Octagon, he carries his power at all times. One counter punch drastically changed the situation, putting Saint Denis into desperation mode. Suddenly, Poirier was in control, and a perfect counter right hook absolutely leveled the French prospect seconds later.

It’s a complicated outcome.

Truthfully, Poirier didn’t look good. He made a lot of bad decisions, relied mostly on his face for defense, and couldn’t stay off the fence at all. There are rumors that he’ll face Islam Makhachev next after this win, and there’s simply no way that match up goes well for him (unless he finally lands that guillotine). At the same time, it was such a ballsy performance that it’s hard not to walk away impressed. Poirier leaves another war of attrition with a sickening knockout win, once again proving himself an all-time great in that style of fight.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

JDM Pulls It Off

This may be a slightly hot take, but on my scorecard, Gilbert Burns was up 2-0 with five minutes remaining.

That’s not to say it wasn’t close or that Jack Della Maddalena wasn’t fight well. In fact, I was consistently impressed with Maddalena’s excellent scrambling. Burns was timing his takedowns really well, using the wise approach of kicking and wrestling the boxer — all the way out or all the way in! When Maddalena hit the floor, however, he did great work in fighting hands, fighting hooks, and flowing with the jiu-jitsu ace to scramble back to his feet in short fashion.

The bout was a little odd when the two were striking. Burns would occasionally land a really hard single punch or heavy kick. Then, Maddalena would cautiously build combinations, but a lot of them didn’t have a ton of power. Combined with Burns’ occasional takedowns but relative lack of control, it made for competitive rounds.

Whatever the scorecards, Maddalena pulled off a hell of a turnaround midway through the third. Burns was finally getting him down with greater consistency, and you could see in Maddalena’s posture and visage that he was exhausted. Nevertheless, Maddalena was able to pull off one last escape from a desperate position — the two-on-one wrist ride — and suddenly, it was “Durinho” desperately searching for a takedown.

Maddalena knew it and timed a knee perfectly to knock out the former title contender. Book “JDM” vs. Shavkat yesterday!

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Petr Yan Returns To The Win Column

Petr Yan vs. Song Yadong was an absolute BANGER!

Yadong started the bout really well. His speed in the first five minutes was absurd, as Yadong was able to chop the lead leg, threaten takedowns, and build combinations well. Yan was firing back, but he was clearly put off by his opponent’s raw speed and power.

Naturally, those attributes start to slow a bit after five hard minutes. Yan took advantage in several ways, but his first bit of major success was landing a few body kicks that really took some steam off Yadong’s shots. Then, his jab started to land, and Yan began to punish his opponent’s takedown feints and head movement with ripping uppercuts. We’ve come to expect great adjustments from the former champion, and he certainly delivered!

It call come down the the third, and both men were feeling those 10 violent minutes. Initially, I liked the look of “The Kung Fu Kid,” who found good success by focusing more on his jab and pressuring Yan despite the heavy fire coming back his way. Just as the momentum seemed to be falling back into his corner, Yan was able to score a pivotal takedown along the fence. He finished the fight in top position, throwing elbows, and there was little doubt that “No Mercy” had done enough to get the nod.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Curtis Blaydes Finally Turns The Table

There was a bit of poetic justice in how Curtis Blaydes defeated Jailton Almeida.

How many times have we seen Curtis Blaydes start strong before getting melted? The most infamous example came against Derrick Lewis, where “The Black Beast” hardly landed a single punch until finding the perfect uppercut in the second round to put Blaydes to sleep. Other bouts against the likes of Francis Ngannou and Sergei Pavlovich were less dramatic, but even so, Blaydes found early success before getting smoked.

Finally, this bout was the opposite. Almeida proved his Heavyweight strength and wrestling by manhandling Blaydes for five minutes with an impressively dominant array of clinch trips and throws. Blaydes was thoroughly stuck for the entire first five rounds. It wasn’t looking good!

Then, Blaydes flipped the script. He sprawled on Almeida’s shot early in the second, and before the Brazilian could start chaining together his attempts, Blaydes unloaded a series of hammerfists to the side of his head. Blaydes has never been a fast puncher, but he hits plenty hard and had a stationary target in front of him.

Almeida slumped over, unsure what was happening.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best wins of Blaydes’ career. Almeida hadn’t lost in five years and 15 fights! It should be enough to score Blaydes a title rematch versus Tom Aspinall, which has both the history and style match up to be quite intriguing … even if Blaydes will be a significant underdog.

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Middleweight Michel

It’s really started to feel like Michel Pereira should have been at Middleweight this whole time

The Brazilian ended his Welterweight run — which featured numerous weight misses — on a five-fight win streak. However, only one victory came via finish, and several times, we saw Pereira lose rounds in the process. He looked good, but nobody was really pegging “Demolidor” as a future title contender.

Maybe that’s changed up at 185 lbs? Pereira steamrolled Andre Petrovski in 66 seconds a few months ago in his first bout post-banishment to Middleweight, and he just battered Michał Oleksiejczuk in 61 seconds last night! Oleksiejczuk is a high-quality Middleweight striker, but Pereira ran right through him by ripping apart his mid-section, which is quite a feather in his cap given Oleksiejczuk’s own penchant for body punching.

How high can Pereira climb without killing himself to make weight? I’m excited to find out.

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Four Knockouts In 37 Seconds

Robelis Despaigne is a force of nature. He won three fights prior to his UFC debut in just seconds, and nothing changed against Josh Parisian! Despaigne wasted a beat or two by slipping on a high kick, but as soon as he regained his footing, he immediately made up for lost time with a whipping counter right hook.

Parisian hit the ground and was immediately toast. The fight lasted 18 seconds.

What did we learn about Despaigne here? F—king nothing. We still have no idea what happens if he’s forced to wrestle or simply fight beyond the first minute. Who cares though? If nothing else, Despaigne has established himself as an absolute must-watch Heavyweight and unique prospect. It literally cannot get much more exciting!

For complete UFC 299 results and play-by-play, click HERE!

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