Sean O’Malley has revealed that he will grant Marlon Vera a rematch if he is crowned as the champion this Saturday night against Aljamain Sterling.
Sean O’Malley & Marlon Vera: A History
O’Malley only has one blemish against his UFC record. That blemish is named Marlon Vera. ‘Chito’ is the only man to beat O’Malley in the UFC, something which O’Malley would like to get back.
Speaking to UFC 292 Embedded , O’Malley said, “I want to stay active baby. Get me back in there in December. Let’s run it up. Realistically, if ‘Chito’ wins, let’s do me and ‘Chito’ in December. Book it. I am ready to book it right now and I will sign a contract.” Quotes from lowkickmma.com
Sean O’Malley has always discredited Vera’s win. ‘Chito’ kicked away at O’Malley’s legs during the fight, leading to ‘Suga’ suffering an injury to the leg and eventually falling to the ground. ‘Chito’ followed up with ground and pound and with O’Malley unable to defend himself, the fight was stopped. Vera was declared the winner by TKO.
O’Malley claims that his loss to ‘Chito’ wasn’t a legitimate loss and as such still considers himself to be undefeated.
Could ‘Chito’ Be Next, Even if Sean O’Malley Loses?
Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera will face off against Pedro Munhoz as he looks to return to winning ways following defeat last time out to Cory Sandhagen. Despite his previous defeat, ‘Chito’ may well find himself with a title opportunity with a win.
Sean O’Malley is clearly eying Vera as the first defence of his title. Should he be successful in dethroning Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292, it appears that Chito could be next. If O’Malley were to lose, ‘Chito’ may still end up fighting for the belt’. Most UFC fans would concede that Aljo is likely to move up to featherweight win or lose. Should he beat O’Malley and vacate the title, the UFC would need a matchup for the vacant belt and would be looking to move quickly in crowning a new champion.
Vacant Title Fight Contenders
As we work our way through the current bantamweight rankings, the clear number one contender for the title will be Merab Dvalishvili. However, when we look for Merab’s opponent there may be an opportunity for ‘Chito’ to fill that final slot.
O’Malley is ranked at number two but is highly unlikely to get another immediate shot at the title should he lose to Sterling.
Henry Cejudo is ranked at three. Cejudo has had one fight since returning to the UFC which was a loss to the current champion Aljamain Sterling. Cejudo was scheduled to fight ‘Chito’ Vera on this card but was forced to pull out due to an injury and it isn’t clear when he will be fit to return to action.
Cory Sandhagen is ranked at four. Sandhagen has been impressive as of late and would likely be the favourite to get the shot at Merab for a vacant title. That was until Sandhagen revealed he was going to need surgery on an arm injury and was ruled out for at least six months.
Petr Yan is ranked at number five. Yan, the former champion, has really struggled to find any momentum whatsoever since losing the title to Aljamain Sterling. He picked up a win against Cory Sandhagen but since then has gone on a three fight losing run.
Next in the rankings in Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. Since his win over Sean O’Malley, ‘Chito’ has only lost twice against Jose Aldo and Cory Sandhagen, in between which, he picked up four wins over Davey Grant, Frankie Edgar, Rob Font and Dominic Cruz. If ‘Chito were to beat Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292 it would mean he has five wins in his last six bouts.
Rock the Mic
One thing that is for sure. ‘Chito’ needs to be impressive. Sandhagen was not exciting to watch last time out, despite being completely dominant. Cejudo fought for the title in his most recent outing and with Yan on a slide, ‘Chito’ needs a viral moment or a dominant and explosive win if he is to have any chance at fighting for the belt next.
If ‘Chito’ can deliver on task one, his second task will be to rock the mic in his post-fight speech. ‘Chito’ needs to call for O’Malley or Merab and throw himself into the conversation.
Do you think ‘Chito’ could fight for the belt next? Who should fight for the vacant title should Aljo defend and vacate? How does a rematch between O’Malley and Vera go? Let us know in the comments.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
