Sean O’Malley Breaks Silence After Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera’s Last Minute Body Shot Scare at UFC 299

Sean O’Malley avenged his only loss against Marlon Vera in the main event of UFC 299. However, the unanimous decision win did not come easy for ‘Suga’. He revealed that the Ecuadorian got the better of him with a hard body shot that made him limp at the end of the fight.

‘Suga’ appeared during the post-fight press conference at the Kaseya Center in Miami. One of the reporters mentioned that they noticed him sitting down by the cage when the fight ended. They wondered if it was an emotional moment for the fighter to have defended his title against the only person who handed him his sole career loss. However, the bantamweight champion revealed that he sat down because he was hurt.

“F***er hit me with a nice body shot. Tim told me, ‘Don’t sit… you’re winning the fight. Don’t need to sit there’, but I just wanted that finish so bad,” said Sean O’Malley.

“I thought I could sit in the pocket and f**ing trade. He [Vera] hit me with a nice body shot and I was just like, ‘I already whooped his a*. Imma sit down and relax a little bit,” O’Malley added. It remains to be seen if the body shot might have caused some kind of injury or if it was just a painful blow to the body.

Now, Vera had his moments in the fight, but he was overwhelmed by O’Malley’s pinpoint striking. As per ESPN stats, the 29-year-old landed more than twice the number of significant strikes; 186 to 90. Further, O’Malley hurt ‘Chito’ with a knee to the face in the second round and once again with a left hand in the last round.

Following this win for O’Malley, the division might see some more blockbuster title fights in the future. However, the champion revealed his ideal next move, and that was to jump to the 145-pound division. Does he want to engage in a champion-campion fight?

Read More: Conor McGregor Ends Rivalry With Dustin Poirier as Irishman Sends a Message to French President Emmanuel Macron and Benoit Saint-Denis After UFC 299

‘Suga’ wants Ilia Topuria in Spain!

After Ilia Topuria‘s win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, Dana White opened up on the possibility of a UFC event in Spain. After all, Topuria is UFC’s first Spanish champion. Further, if this market expansion takes place, it will be the promotion’s debut in the country.

With a lot of talk about a Spanish event, Sean O’Malley revealed during the post-fight interview at UFC 299 that he wants to fight ‘El Matador’ in the 145-pound champion’s home country for his title. ‘Suga’ stated, “Dana, give me a jet to Spain baby, I’m coming for Ilia Topuria.”

Sean O’Malley seems to be aware of what Ilia Topuria can bring to the table. The prospect of getting to fight him is an exciting one for the bantamweight champion, and he is determined to get the opportunity to prove himself in the featherweight division. “He’s a scary f*cking dude. Ilia excites me, going up a weight class excites me,” O’Malley added. But what does Topuria think about this?

The champion responded to O’Malley and stated, “Suga, congrats. Was a beautiful performance. There is a fight chasing you with Merab. Get that done first.”

There is a possibility that O’Malley will defend his title a couple of times against fighters like Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen before jumping into the 145-pound division. What do you think is next for O’Malley? Drop your comments below.

Read More: Umar Nurmagomedov Rubs Salt on Marlon Vera’s Wounds as Sean O’Malley Shuts Down ‘Chito’ at UFC 299