Sean O’Malley and Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera are set to square off once again in a highly anticipated rematch at UFC 299. Fans will recall Vera as the first fighter to hand O’Malley a professional defeat. However, what some may overlook is that both fighters were initially slated to clash before their encounter at UFC 252.
In 2019, ‘Sugar’ and ‘Chito’ were booked to face each other at UFC 239. However, the bout was canceled after ostarine was detected in O’Malley’s system.
This development left Vera incensed, leading him to confront O’Malley at the UFC Performance Institute. Despite Vera’s frustrations, O’Malley vehemently denied any wrongdoing, stating to ‘Chito’:
“I didn’t take sh*t. I never take sh*t. From your perspective, dude, I thought about it. I failed the test, not knowing about taking supplements, I’d be pissed. I’d be assuming, I feel you. ‘This motherf***er took something.’ But man to man, I’ve never taken anything.”
Fortunately, the two fighters eventually squared off inside the octagon at UFC 252. It marked the lone loss of O’Malley’s professional career, as he struggled against Vera’s calf kicks and ultimately succumbed to a TKO on the canvas after being unable to maintain the fight standing.
Now, their upcoming rematch at UFC 299, which will be contested for O’Malley’s newly acquired bantamweight championship, holds significant importance for both competitors. O’Malley aims to demonstrate that his previous defeat to Vera was merely a fluke, while Vera seeks to capture the championship and silence O’Malley’s doubts.
