Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera are gearing up to face each other in Miami, Florida at UFC 299. O’Malley is all set to defend his bantamweight title against his lone defeat, which came from Vera. Their initial clash resulted in O’Malley’s defeat alongside a serious injury that took ‘Suga’ away from the octagon for months. The MMA community was expecting O’Malley to defeat Vera but ‘Chito’ had some other plans.

Joe Rogan was one of the personalities who was expecting ‘Suga’ to clinch the victory but ‘Chito’s tremendous skill stopped the hype train back in 2020 on UFC 252. Four years after the defeat, we get a closer look at Rogan’s disappointment upon ‘Suga’s loss.

Joe Rogan was left shocked over Sean O’Malley’s defeat

UFC 252 witnessed the clash between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera. There was a hype that no one in the division could stop O’Malley. Interestingly, ‘Suga’ was the favorite for everyone to win the match, however, Vera came up with a plan and he executed it beautifully. In the very first round, Vera not only knocked out ‘Suga’ but also injured his leg pretty badly.

Joe Rogan was in the commentary team at that time and from his words it could be heard that he was a bit biased and was leaning towards O’Malley. Rogan was not expecting Vera to finish O’Malley and that too in the very first round. As the match progressed, Rogan and Jon Anik understood that something was seriously wrong with ‘Suga’s leg.

As the fight progressed, Rogan saw the limp on Sean O’Malley’s foot and he understood that it was over for ‘ Suga’. Immediately, after the revelation Vera threw O’Malley down and finished him with an elbow. After the win ‘Chito’ Climbed atop the canvas and gestured toward Rogan and announced, ” Welcome to the Cheeto show.”

Rogan had one thing to say after that “Interesting stoppage it was quick because would he have done that if it wasn’t obvious there was something wrong with his leg?” ‘Chito’ might have stopped the hype train of O’Malley but was it enough to subdue ‘Suga’? Certainly not. Sean O’Malley has learned from his mistakes and seems like he is in no mood to repeat them.

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O’Malley will not make the same mistakes

As mentioned above, O’Malley’s initial bout was brutal for him. Vera clinched the victory and asserted that they are now in the Chito Vera era. O’Malley took the defeat to his heart and as his first title defense challenged ‘Chito’. Now both of them are just days away from settling the bet.

While having a conversation with ‘TMZ’, Sean O’Malley discussed the details of his previous bout and stated that he is ready for the challenges that are coming his way. “Yeah nothing’s been different. It’s, uh, you know, it’s my second five-round training camp. Obviously, that last fight didn’t go five rounds. It only went two, and one and a half, but uh yeah, nothing’s really been different other than ‘Chito’ big fight rematch. Same s**t, different day. Been doing this for you know, 13 years so, yeah.”

O’Malley is confident it will be another day in the park as he gets his revenge. Will Sean O’Malley will successfully defend his belt or will we witness a new champion in Marlon Vera? Tell us about your opinion in the comments below.

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