KASAYA CENTER, FLORIDA — Sean O'Malley proved to be a true star, and matched the entrance he came out to – Superstar by Lupe Fiasco – at UFC 299. "Suga" landed several big blows to beat Marlon Vera via unanimous decision, successfully defending the UFC bantamweight title for the first time.
Vera tried to land leg shots right away, a callback to their last fight. However, O’Malley halted the offense of Vera right away. He used jabs and a swift boxing offense to hurt Vera. In round two, he landed combinations that went through the defense of Vera. A knee to the face really got the crowd going, as O’Malley had the clear edge from that point on.
O’Malley was in the driver’s seat in round three and he knew it. Still, he had to be wary of Vera’s reaching shots. He managed to work past them with combinations and body kicks. Vera landed a flying knee, but it wasn’t as effective as O’Malley’s.
The last few moments of the fight saw O’Malley pour shots into the face of Vera, who was showing signs that he went through a one-sided battle. The crowd gave the fighters, especially O’Malley, a standing ovation.
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O'Malley hasn't lost a fight since the Vera fight in 2020, with six wins and a no-contest to his name. Per the UFC, O'Malley's +141 significant strike differential ranked second-largest in a UFC bantamweight fight, behind O'Malley's +160 against Kris Moutinho. "Suga" wants to face Ilia Topuria for featherweight gold in Spain next. He may not get that, as he will likely defend the bantamweight belt against Merab Dvalishvili.
"Dana, get me a jet to Spain. I want Ilia Topuria. If you guys want me to knock out Merab, I’ll do that, too," O'Malley said after the fight.
The rest of the card featured fights that delivered, and then some. The co-main event was supposed to go five rounds, but Dustin Poirier refused to let it go past two. "The Diamond" rocked Benoit Saint-Denis with combinations that dropped the French star. It looked like Saint-Denis had the edge after a wild first round, but Poirier dug deep and landed two big punches that forced Saint-Denis to bleed. Once he hit the floor, the fans erupted.
Poirier gets a win back, while Saint Denis' five-fight win streak and momentum ended.
Michael "Venom" Page made his UFC debut against Kevin Holland. The former Bellator product looked like a star in the octagon, from his Undertaker-produced entrance to his performance against a game Holland. Page looked right at home, using an unorthodox offense to land vicious elbows and kicks. MVP is now on a two-fight win streak.
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Jack Della Maddalena and Gilbert Burns engaged in a back-and-forth affair that saw the former land a vicious knee to Burns, the fan favorite, which dropped him. Before that, it looked as if Burns was going to win. The judge's scorecards had him up two rounds. Della Maddalena may have just moved to the top ten in the welterweight rankings.
Opening the main card, Petr Yan returned to form, beating Song Yadong in a pivotal bantamweight fight. Yan, the former UFC bantamweight champion, struggled early but recovered nicely with takedowns, his kryptonite for some time.
The Russian ended a three-fight losing streak, while Yadong had a two-fight win streak snapped.
The Sporting News provided results from the entire UFC 299 card.
UFC 299 full card results
Main Card
- Sean O'Malley (c) def. Marlon Vera via unanimous decision for the UFC bantamweight title (50-45, 50-45, 50-44)
- Dustin Poirier def. Benoit Saint Denis via KO (2:32 into round two)
- Michael "Venom" Page def. Kevin Holland via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jack Della Maddalena def. Gilbert Burns via KO (3:43 into round three)
- Petr Yan def. Song Yadong via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Prelims
- Curtis Blaydes def. Jailton Almeida via TKO (0:36 into round two)
- Maycee Barber def. Katlyn Cerminara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Mateusz Gamrot def. Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Kyler Phillips def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Early Prelims
- Philipe Lins def. Ion Cutelaba via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Michel Pereira def. Michal Oleksiejczuk via rear-naked choke (1:01 into round one)
- Robelis Despaigne def. Josh Parisian via knockout (0:18 into round one)
- Assu Almabayev def. C.J. Vergara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Joanne Wood def. Maryna Moroz via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)