O'Malley vs Vera II

Who won O’Malley vs Vera II?

Sean O’Malley beat Marlon Vera by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of UFC 299, on Saturday 9th March 2024 at Kaseya Center in Miami.

The scorecards were announced as 50-45, 50-45, 50-44 in favor of the winner Sean O’Malley.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Bantamweight championship.

O’Malley vs Vera II stats

Sean O’Malley stepped into the octagon with a record of 17 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 1 by submission.

Marlon Vera made his way to the cage with a record of 21 wins, 8 losses and 1 draw, 8 of those wins coming by knock out and 8 by submission.

This was Sean O’Malley's 13th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2017. Marlon Vera marked his 24th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2014.

Sean O’Malley's UFC record stood at 10-2-0, while Marlon Vera's came in at 15-9-0.

The stats suggested O'Malley had a massive power advantage over Vera, boasting a 71% knock out percentage over Vera's 38%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Vera had a massive advantage over O'Malley, boasting a 38% submission rate over O'Malley's 6%.

Sean O’Malley was the younger man by 2 years, at 30 years old.

O'Malley had a height advantage of 3 inches over Vera. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

O'Malley was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 12 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 3 years and 8 months later than Vera, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 43 less professional rounds, 44 to Vera's 87.

O’Malley vs Vera II form

O'Malley had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Petr Yan at UFC 280 on 22nd October 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Previous to that, his fight against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 ended in a no contest.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Raulian Paiva at UFC 269 on 11th December 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had defeated Kris Moutinho at UFC 264 on 10th July 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He was victorious against Thomas Almeida at UFC 260 on 27th March 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Vera had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Rob Font at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Vera on 30th April 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Frankie Edgar at UFC 268 on 6th November 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Davey Grant at UFC Vegas 29 on 19th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

Before that, he had lost to Jose Aldo at UFC Vegas 17 on 19th December 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He was victorious against Sean O’Malley at UFC 252 on 15th August 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In of activity leading into the fight, Sean O’Malley had been fighting more than Marlon Vera.

Going to this contest, Sean O’Malley had last fought 2 years, 7 months and 17 days ago, while Marlon Vera's last outing had been 3 years, 1 month and 9 days ago.

O'Malley's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 2 months and 12 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 2 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

Vera's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 9 months and 24 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 17 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What were the odds on O’Malley vs Vera II?

Sean O’Malley was a 2/5 (-250) favourite going into the contest, while Marlon Vera made his way into the ring at 2/1 (+200) with oddsmakers.