Dana White: UFC 299 Headliner Was 'Biggest Bantamweight Fight of All-Time'

When it comes to the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division, it didn’t get any bigger than UFC 299.

That’s according to UFC CEO Dana White, who began Saturday’s post-fight press conference by praising Miami as a host city.

“The gate was $14.14 million. It was a sellout, 19,165 people. The highest-grossing event ever at the arena,” White said. “We broke our own record, and it is the fourth-highest grossing UFC event of all-time. Miami is on fire. This place is unbelievable. What they’ve done in this state and in this city in the last 10 years is phenomenal.”

In the evening’s featured bout, Sean O'Malley made his first successful bantamweight title defense with a lopsided five-round verdict against Marlon Vera at the Kaseya Center. About the only thing missing from the performance for “Suga” was a finish of his Ecuadorean rival. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, however. O’Malley bloodied and battered his opponent, outlanding him by 141 significant strikes. He appeared to have Vera reeling on a couple of occasions, but each time “Chito” managed to remain in the fight.

“He put on a clinic, and I don’t know if anybody can finish ‘Chito’ Vera,” White said. “He’s got a chin like nothing I’ve ever seen. Ate those two knees. Big shots all night. Everybody knows the power that O’Malley has. He ate all those shots…. ‘Chito’ Vera is one of the most durable fighters I’ve ever seen.”

While Vera wasn’t viewed as the most worthy No. 1 contender heading into UFC 299, it was a fight requested by O’Malley due to his previous loss to “Chito” in 2020. And O’Malley is already at a point where he can call his own shots.

“Biggest bantamweight fight of all-time,” White said. “Based off energy, excitement, gate and pay-per-view — it’s by far the biggest fight ever in the bantamweight division.”

When asked if O’Malley could reach the heights achieved by Conor McGregor, the biggest star in UFC history, White didn’t rule out the possibility.

“He’s on his way,” White said. “He’s the biggest star ever in bantamweight history. We can say that right now.”

O’Malley might not be able to call the shots for his next fight, however. While the MMA Lab standout has lobbied for a crack at newly-crowned featherweight champ Ilia Topuria, he currently has a ready-made No. 1 contender in his own division: Merab Dvalishvili.

“I don’t know about moving divisions,” White said. “You know how I feel about that. Even Topuria was talking about not fighting anybody in the division after just winning the title. That’s crazy talk.”