Sean O’Malley News

Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera
Marlon Vera

UFC 299 | Pro fighters make their picks for Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon Vera 2 title fight

Cole Shelton - March 6, 2024

In the main event of UFC 299, the bantamweight title is on the line as Sean O’Malley defends his strap in a rematch against Marlon Vera. Heading into the fight, O’Malley is a -280 favorite while the the challenger is a +210 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the bantamweight title fight. The pros are actually going with the underdog in Vera to get his hand raised and become the bantamweight champion.

Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili
Sean O'Malley

Matt Brown believes the UFC is squeezing all the juice they can out of Sean O’Malley: “Before Merab comes in and empties that cup out”

Susan Cox - March 6, 2024

Matt Brown believes that the UFC is squeezing all the juice they can out of current bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. UFC veteran welterweight Matt Brown (24-19 MMA) believes that Merab Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA) will replace Sean O’Malley on the bantamweight throne in the near future.

Sean O'Malley
UFC

Sean O’Malley admits he is just a “causal fan” when it comes to UFC: “I didn’t watch one fight on the card last week”

Harry Kettle - March 6, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has revealed that he sees himself as more of a casual fan of the promotion. This weekend, the masses will be tuning in to see Sean O’Malley defend his UFC bantamweight championship against Marlon Vera. Between his personality outside of the cage and his fun style in it, ‘Suga’ has turned himself into a real superstar in recent years.

Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera
UFC

Sean O'Malley's coach takes blame for loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 252: "That was definitely a mistake"

Cole Shelton - March 5, 2024

Tim Welch, the head coach of Sean O’Malley is taking the blame for ‘Suga’s’ UFC 252 loss to Marlon Vera. O’Malley’s lone career loss came by first-round TKO to Vera in a fight that ‘Suga’ hurt his ankle in the first round. O’Malley entered the fight as a sizeable betting favorite but in the scrap, he rolled his ankle several times and ended up not being able to get back to his feet.

Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera rematch at UFC 299
UFC

UFC 299: ‘O’Malley vs. Vera 2’ Fight Card and Start Times

Susan Cox - March 5, 2024

The countdown is on for UFC 299: ‘O’Malley vs. Vera 2’ which takes place this coming Saturday, March 9th at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The Early Prelims will kickoff this Saturday at 6pm ET / 3pm PT in the United States on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass. The Prelims will air at 8pm ET / 5pm PT on ESPN, ESPN News and ESPN+. The Main Card will air exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. at 10pm ET / 7pm PT.

Umar Nurmagomedov
UFC

Sean O’Malley believes Umar Nurmagomedov is probably “the toughest fight” at bantamweight: “I believe Umar is a potential superstar”

Harry Kettle - March 5, 2024

Sean O’Malley believes that Umar Nurmagomedov serves as one of the toughest fights available to him at bantamweight. This weekend, Sean O’Malley will attempt to cement his position as one of the biggest stars in MMA. He’ll do so by defending his championship against long-time rival Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.

Aljamain Sterling
Marlon Vera

Aljamain Sterling explains why he’s picking Sean O’Malley to defeat Marlon Vera at UFC 299: “He didn’t really have a great camp”

Susan Cox - March 4, 2024

Aljamain Sterling is explaining why he’s picking Sean O’Malley to defeat Marlon Vera at UFC 299. UFC 299 takes place this coming Saturday, March 9th at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

Merab Dvalishvili
Sean O'Malley

Merab Dvalishvili reveals how he plans on defeating Sean O’Malley if he wins at UFC 299: "Eventually I will take him down"

Fernando Quiles - March 3, 2024

Merab Dvalishvili believes he knows how to eventually get the better of Sean O’Malley. Dvalishvili seems to be a no-brainer when it comes to facing the winner of the upcoming bantamweight title bout between O’Malley and Marlon “Chito” Vera. Merab is fresh off an impressive performance in his unanimous decision win over Henry Cejudo. He’ll be keeping a close eye on O’Malley vs. “Chito.”

Umar Nurmagomedov
Sean O'Malley

Umar Nurmagomedov shares prediction for upcoming Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera title fight at UFC 299

Susan Cox - February 29, 2024

Umar Nurmagomedov is sharing his prediction for the upcoming Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera title fight at UFC 299. UFC 299 will take place on Saturday, March 9th at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

Sean O'Malley

Sean O'Malley laughs off 'stupid' Ryan Garcia for challenging him to UFC fight: "I don't need to take him down"

Josh Evanoff - February 27, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley believes Ryan Garcia is crazy for wanting to fight him in MMA. ‘Sugar’ and ‘KingRy’ have been linked to each other over the last few months. Last year, Sean O’Malley revealed that he had already spoken to the UFC brass about a potential move to the boxing ring. According to the champion, the only fight that they would accept is a future clash with Ryan Garcia, due to the boxer’s starpower.

Ryan Garcia, Sean O'Malley
Sean O'Malley

Ryan Garcia calls out Sean O’Malley for a UFC fight: “Alright rainbow head”

Fernando Quiles - February 25, 2024

Ryan Garcia and UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley have had a verbal exchange over a recent callout from “KingRy.” Garcia is set to collide with WBC junior welterweight titleholder Devin Haney on April 20. That hasn’t stopped him from looking at other potentially lucrative fights down the road. His most recent callout was a surprising one, setting his sights on the “Sugar” show.

Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili
Sean O'Malley

Sean O'Malley changes tune as he calls for Merab Dvalishvili after Marlon Vera at UFC 299: "I’m knocking that dude out"

Cole Shelton - February 22, 2024

Sean O’Malley has changed his tune and is now interested in fighting Merab Dvalishvili. O’Malley said the plan was to fight Ilia Topuria for the featherweigh title if he gets past Marlon Vera. However, after hearing all the fans call for Dvalishvili get the next title shot, ‘Suga’ says he will grant that as he’s confident he would KO the Georgian.

Sean O'Malley
Merab Dvalishvili

Sean O'Malley explains why he wants Ilia Topuria over Merab Dvalishvili next: "He's very beatable"

Josh Evanoff - February 19, 2024

UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley wants Ilia Topuria over Merab Dvalishvili for an interesting reason. ‘Sugar’ is currently scheduled to return to the octagon next month in the main event of UFC 299. For Sean O’Malley, the title defense will be the first of his bantamweight reign, previously capturing the championship with a knockout win over Aljamain Sterling. First up for the new champion is a rematch with Marlon Vera.

Sean O’Malley Merab Dvalishvili
Sean O'Malley

Sean O'Malley comments on Merab Dvalishvili's UFC 298 win over Henry Cejudo: "Decent little fight from a couple little dudes"

Fernando Quiles - February 18, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has shared his take on the recent pivotal bantamweight matchup between Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo. O’Malley was sitting in the crowd and he witnessed Merab score a unanimous decision victory over Cejudo inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California during UFC 298. O’Malley will be putting his gold on the line against Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC 299, and the winner might be in for a clash against Dvalishvili.

Sean O’Malley
Sean Strickland

Sean O’Malley doesn't approve of Sean Strickland's "spar" with Sneako: "I thought it was f*cked up"

Fernando Quiles - February 15, 2024

Sean O’Malley doesn’t approve of Sean Strickland’s actions during a spar with social media influencer Sneako. Strickland has been known to be unhinged at times. During a recent “spar” with Sneako, Strickland was clearly trying to hurt the social media figure inside the cage before finally walking away from the untrained Sneako. It’s not something you typically see from a former UFC champion, but Strickland certainly isn’t like most.

Sean O’Malley
Sean O'Malley

Sean O’Malley says Ilia Topuria "better hope he f*cking" defeats Alex Volkanovski at UFC 298: "He's talking a lot of sh*t"

Fernando Quiles - February 14, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley thinks Ilia Topuria might be biting off more than he can chew, but he still wants that fight. Topuria will be challenging Alex Volkanovski for the UFC Featherweight Championship. The title fight will be headlining UFC 298, which will emanate from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The action will take place this Saturday night.

Sean O'Malley, Henry Cejudo and Merab Dvalishvili
Merab Dvalishvili

Sean O'Malley shares prediction for Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili

Cole Shelton - February 6, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has given his prediction for a pivotal fight in his weight class between Henry Cejudo and Merab Dvalishvili. Cejudo and Dvalishvili are set to fight next weekend at UFC 298 in a potential number-one contender fight at bantamweight. The winner could very well be in line to fight the winner of O’Malley vs. Vera 2, which goes down the following month at UFC 299.

Ryan Garcia, Sean O'Malley
Sean O'Malley

Ryan Garcia fires shot at Sean O'Malley over potential crossover fight: "Couldn't hold my gym bag"

Josh Evanoff - February 6, 2024

It appears that Ryan Garcia doesn’t seem to take UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley very seriously. ‘Sugar’ is currently slated to return to the octagon in March, at UFC 299. There, he will face Marlon Vera in his first title defense. Sean O’Malley famously captured the gold with a second-round knockout win over Aljamain Sterling last August. Now, he will look to avenge his one career loss to ‘Chito’ next month.