Sean O’Malley remains the UFC bantamweight champion after he avenged the only defeat of his career by beating Marlon Vera to defend his title.
‘Suga’ won the fight by unanimous decision with the judges scoring 50-45, 50-45 and 50-44 in favour of the 29-year-old after a composed five-round performance.
Speaking after the fight with the belt around his waist, O’Malley credited Vera for a “tough” bout as he finally got his revenge, four years after losing to Ecuadorian.
“Chito is as tough as it gets, that one feels good to get that one back,” O’Malley said on TNT Sports after the fight.
“I’m guessing we can all agree that I’m undefeated still. Chito is as tough as it gets.”
On what challenge he wants to take on next, O’Malley said: “Dana, get me a jet to Spain, baby. I’m coming for Ilia Topuria! He’s a scary dude, Illia. It excites me, going up a weight class excites me.
“Honestly, I’m here for whatever. If you want me to knock out Merab [Dvalishvili] I’ll do that too, but Illia is an exciting fight for the people.”
O’Malley got the better of a cagey first round as he started to work the body with kicks and in the second, landed a huge right knee to the face, busting the challenger’s nose.
Vera withstood the following pressure and another flurry of connections from O’Malley before landing a solid right hand himself, but the American commanded another round to finish with a head kick and a couple of big right hands.
O’Malley continued his picture-perfect display in the following rounds as Vera held on, consistently taking shots from the champion as his face became visibly swollen.
As O’Malley looked to see out a controlled showing, Vera hit back with a knee and a left body shot towards the end of the bout, but it would not be enough to undo the brilliant work by O’Malley.
In the co-main event, Dustin Poirier knocked out Benoit Saint-Denis with a huge right hook in the second round for his 22nd UFC win.
Poirier rocked the Frenchman with a well-timed uppercut but Saint-Denis held on to avoid a second guillotine attempt before Poirier landed the devastating blow seconds later, sending his opponent to the floor before the referee stepped in to call time on the encounter.
After the fight, Poirier – who hinted his retirement could be right around the corner ahead of the fight – said he took the bout with Saint-Denis to “honour the game”.
“I took this fight because he finished his last five opponents,” Poirier said after sealing victory on TNT Sports. “He’s dangerous, he has a never-say-die attitude.
“When I saw that, I said I’ve got to take this fight because I honour this game. Eddie Alvarez gave me my shot when he was a former champion. You have to pay it back.”
Saint-Denis, who went into the fight the favourite, showed relentless form in the opening round, pounding Poirier with a string of body shots but the 34-year-old’s defence was solid as he replied with a couple of shots.
In the second round, he delivered more body shots and elbows but the American struck back with a combination of left hooks and uppercuts.
And then came the definitive blow to knock Saint-Denis off his stride, before Poirier took his chance with the knockout blow.
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