Sean O’Malley has one defeat on his record and that is against Marlon Vera. At UFC 299, he has the opportunity to avenge his sole defeat as he is set to square off against Chito in a rematch. A lot has been said about the two combatants in the lead-up already. On one hand, the bantamweight champion defied his defeat against him. Whereas, the challenger asserted he has proven to be better than the American already.

In any case, ahead of the bout, O’Malley reflects on this loss and makes a shocking confession about their first clash. What does he have to say? Let’s find out.

Sean O’Malley is grateful to Marlon Vera

In hindsight, O’Malley does consider his sole defeat to Vera in a positive light. That is because, according to him, at the time, it was pretty premature for him to break into the top 10. The defeat allowed him to go back to the drawing board, learn from his mistakes, and come back with a superior skill set.

In a recent interview, ahead of the fight, he said, “When that all played out, 2020, three and a half years ago, I went on a tear after that. I look at that as a blessing in disguise. Say I go out there and beat Chito, then I get rushed to the top too fast. My career did not play out it did. I look at it as a blessing in disguise.”

It appears that the champion has an optimistic outlook on his career and is glad how everything came into being. That being said, ahead of the fight, it bears mention that he does not appear to be short of any confidence.

O’Malley makes a bold claim ahead of his fight

O’Malley draws an intriguing analogy. In 2022, Israel Adesanya was defeated by Alex Pereira. However, he avenged his defeat in their rematch in the city of Miami. Intriguingly, O’Malley is set to potentially avenge his defeat in the same place wherein the former middleweight champion avenged his loss.

Read more: Sean O’Malley Confesses Bizarre Umar Nurmagomedov Interaction – “We’re Gonna Fight Someday”

While drawing inspiration from that, he said. “Boston was crazy. Miami is going to be a little bit different. I could fight anywhere and I’m it’s not going to phase me, but yeah, Miami will be a little bit different. I think it’s a perfect time to go to Miami. They always go all out in Miami. Izzy knocked out Alex Pereira in their rematch in Miami.”

It appears that O’Malley is not fazed by fighting the combatant that defeated him. If anything, it appears he is looking forward to it. However, we let you be the judge: Do you think the bantamweight champion can avenge his defeat? Share with us your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.