UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is eager to make his first title defense and would like to face Marlon Vera, the only opponent to have defeated him, with a target fight date before the end of the year, once he recovers fully from a recent rib injury.
Sean O’Malley, the new UFC bantamweight champion, is keen to make his initial title defense before the year ends. Despite suffering a rib injury six weeks before his knockout win against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292, O’Malley disclosed on a recent episode of The MMA hour that he is eager to test his grappling strength soon. He also made it clear that he lays his full intentions on defending his title before year-end, provided he receives clearance for his aching hand.
During that same interview, the 28-year-old fighter professed his anticipation for what comes next stating, “We’ll see. The sooner, the better for me.” He mentioned talks with UFC president Dana White but didn’t reveal details as there are still moving pieces involved. However, O’Malley expressed his readiness to fight in December should he be deemed fit after an MRI on his left hand and subsequent grappling tests.
O’Malley has not wavered in his pick for the ideal opponent. Following his stunning victory over Sterling, he called out Marlon Vera, the only man to defeat the new champion in his professional MMA career. Vera had just won against Pedro Munhoz on the same UFC 292 card and holds a record of 5-1 in his previous six matches. Commenting on his preferred opponent, O’Malley said, “If I fight ‘Chito’ next, it’s because that’s what I want and that’s the biggest fight. I’m in the fight business and I want big fights.”
The champ and Vera previously clashed in August 2020 at UFC 252, where Vera emerged victorious via a first-round TKO. Despite the outcome, O’Malley, over the years, has humorously claimed to be undefeated, and even speculated that he intentionally lost the fight to Vera so he could have a rematch after defeating ‘Aljo’. As for Vera, the Ecuadorian fighter seemed confident in a rematch and expressed no issues with a December date. Reacting to this, O’Malley asserted, “Well of course he is, he ain’t going to get no f****** title shot any other way.”