Sean O’Malley Routs Marlon Vera, Retains Bantamweight Title at UFC 299

This might well be remembered as Sean O’Malley masterpiece.

The 29-year-old MMA Lab product avenged the only blemish on his resume and did so with near-flawless precision, as he retained his undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title with a unanimous decision over Marlon Vera in the UFC 299 headliner on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Scores were 50-45, 50-45 and 50-44, all for O’Malley (18-1, 10-1 UFC).

Vera (23-9-1, 15-8 UFC)—who had beaten “Suga Sean” in their first encounter in August 2020—had no recourse for the champion’s hand speed, footwork and distance management in the rematch. O’Malley blasted him with one-twos, switched stances almost instinctively and peppered him with jabs from both hands. He connected with a concussive knee strike in the second round that may have knocked out every other bantamweight in the world; the notoriously durable Vera ate it without so much as a buckle. Nevertheless, the Ecuadorian was outgunned from start to finish. He did leave O’Malley something by which to remember him—he tore into the Montana native’s body with a left hook—at the very end of Round 5, but it was far too little too late. By the time it was over, Vera’s swollen face looked as if he had unknowingly bumped into a hornet’s nest.

Meanwhile, American Top Team’s Dustin Poirier rebounded from a knockout loss to Justin Gaethje and rallied from an inauspicious start to bury Benoit St. Denis with punches in the second round of their lightweight co-main event. Poirier (30-8, 22-7 UFC) finished it 2:32 into Round 2.

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St. Denis (13-2, 5-2 UFC) crowded the Louisiana native with stifling pressure for much of the first round, where he ripped the body with power punches and targeted the head with elbows. He struck for a takedown late in the period, moved to the back with a body triangle and eventually threatened with an armbar. Poirier survived, drawing upon battle-tested guile and years of experience. St. Denis pressed forward again in Round 2 and powered into mount at one point. Poirier freed himself, floored the Frenchman with a straight left, flirted with a guillotine choke and recocked his guns. He then dropped St. Denis again, this time with a clean right hook, and sealed the deal with a savage standing-to-ground shot.

The setback snapped St. Denis’ five-fight winning streak.

Further down the card, London Shootfighters star and Bellator MMA veteran Michael Page made a successful Octagon debut with a unanimous decision over Kevin Holland in a three-round welterweight feature. Page (22-2, 1-0 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks from the judges.

Holland (25-11, 12-8 UFC) had no answer for the karateka’s combination of speed and technique. Page darted in and out of range, stepped into overhand rights whenever the mood arose and slammed a number of no-look spinning back elbows into the Phalanx MMA Academy product’s face. Frustration built for Holland, and outside of a takedown in the second round that included a brief pass at a rear-naked choke, he was woefully ineffective. Page picked his spots from the perimeter, toyed at times with a well-respected opponent and felt comfortable enough to resort to some of his patented showboating.

Page, 36, has won eight of his past nine bouts.

Elsewhere, Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Jack Della Maddalena announced his arrival as a true contender by putting away Kill Cliff Fight Club’s Gilbert Burns with elbows and punches in the third round of their welterweight attraction. Della Maddalena (17-2, 7-0 UFC) drew the curtain 3:43 into Round 3.

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Burns (22-7, 15-7 UFC) completed multiple takedowns and connected with a majority of the impactful blows—a standing elbow was the best of the bunch—up until the fight-ending sequence. Della Maddalena rolled out of a ground exchange in the third round and met the Brazilian with a brutal knee strike on the break. Burns stumbled backward and hit the canvas, at which point he found himself at the mercy of the Australian. Della Maddalena followed with a burst of elbows and punches, administered an extended beating and forced referee Dan Miragliotta to intervene.

Della Maddalena has rattled off 17 consecutive victories.

Finally, former champion Petr Yan quieted his doubters and maintained a relevant position at 135 pounds with a unanimous decision over Yadong Song in a three-round bantamweight appetizer. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it the same: 29-28 for Yan (17-5, 9-4 UFC), who closed the book on a career-worst three-fight losing streak.

Song (21-8-1, 10-3-1 UFC) soared early with stinging power punches, close-range elbow strikes and a takedown late in the first round. Yan, however, was quick to answer. Rear-hand uppercuts gave Song pause and allowed the Russian to get his jab in gear. Yan executed a takedown of his own in the waning moments of the middle stanza and opened a cut near the Team Alpha Male rep’s left eye with a short elbow strike. A visibly fatigued Song struggled to keep pace down the stretch. Yan continued to feed him sharp jabs, scored with various other techniques and delivered another takedown with roughly a minute to go in the match.

The win was Yan’s first since Oct. 30, 2021.

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