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via Imago
Credits: Imago
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/image_2023-10-01_161246704.png?width=600)
via Imago
Credits: Imago
The UFC has a new Bantamweight champion in Sean O’Malley. At UFC 292, former UFC champ Aljamain Sterling entered the octagon to defend his title against Sean O’Malley. Sterling was on an impressive run with three successful title defenses, a first in the division. But that night, Sean O’Malley proved to be the better man and in a surprising turn of events, won the fight and the Bantamweight belt.
O’Malley countered Sterling with a signature right hand and won the fight by KO/TKO. Now, O’Malley is the champ and is looking to defend his belt, for the first time. There are a lot of fierce fighters in the division who are competent enough to be considered for a title defense, but O’Malley has a name in mind – Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. O’Malley called him out for a fight in December, but it seems UFC CEO Dana White has other plans.
Sean O’Malley speaks to Joe Rogan about wanting to fight Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera
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UFC CEO Dana White looked happy to see Sean O’Malley become the new Bantamweight champion. When Sterling was the Bantamweight champion in the UFC, he had a few issues with White. The two had been going back-and-forth for a while and there was a rumor that Dana White had gifted Sterling a green Lamborghini, once their dispute was resolved.
Now, it seems that the news was not entirely accurate. White had been pushing for O’Malley to fight Sterling for a long time. Sterling had always been against the idea since he felt that O’Malley hadn’t ‘earned’ his title shot like him. However, it happened, and the night didn’t end well for Sterling. After the fight, O’Malley called out Marlon Vera as his next fight in December. However, in his recent conversation with Joe Rogan on his podcast, the Bantamweight champ revealed how Dana White had different plans for UFC in December.
“I really, really did, truly want to fight in December. Like when I called out Chito in December. But then I talked to UFC and they kind of already had – they kinda already had… they were trying to get Colby-Leon together and they didn’t… I asked them and they didn’t want me to main-event my own show, which I think is f*****g dope. I’m down with that so…”, said Sean O’Malley.
“Yeah that’s a good – a good litmus test too… and see what those numbers are, cause Chito’s pretty famous too. That’s a big fight,” replied Joe Rogan. What fans might not be aware of is that there is a reason why Sean O’Malley called out Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, before everyone else.
Why did Sean O’Malley call out Marlon Vera for UFC December?
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Sean O’Malley called out Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, immediately after securing a win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. While some people are confused as to why he called out ‘Chito’ of all fighters, avid UFC fans know the reason behind the challenge.
Sean O’Malley has a 17-1-0 record in MMA. His only loss came at the hands of Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. Now that he is the champ, O’Malley wants to clean the only blemish he has on his otherwise, squeaky clean MMA record.
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 10: Sean O’Malley celebrates after winning his bantamweight bout against Kris Moutinho by TKO in the third round during UFC 264: Poirier v McGregor 3 at T-Mobile Arena on July 10, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. | Credit: Getty Images
If O’Malley’s first title defense is against ‘Chito’ and if O’Malley wins that fight, he will definitely have covered up for his only loss. But now that O’Malley has shared that White is pushing for the Colby Covington vs. Leon Edwards fight, it seems that O’Malley’s redemption might be a little delayed.
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