UFC 299 Aftermath: Chito Vera Accuses Sean O’Malley of Cheating, Rivalry Re-Ignites
Some feuds never die out.
This looks to be the case for Sean O'Malley and Marlon 'Chito' Vera, at least for now. The rivals collided in a long-awaited rematch for the UFC Bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 299 on Saturday.
Ecuador's Vera did TKO O'Malley back in 2020 (his only loss), but 'Sugar' got the last laugh in a one-sided beatdown over the distance, keeping his crown in the process.
Coming home from the decision loss, 'Chito' found his house robbed by thieves while he was fighting in Miami. Talk about a rough couple of days for the title challenger.
"Came back home to fill police reports and try to get all my legal documents & watches inside the safe that some piece of shit stole from my house. First stop Italian consulate thanks for take care of us," Vera wrote on 'X'.
Vera doesn't think this home invasion was the only injustice that occurred to him over the weekend. Going down the slippery slope, Vera lashed out at O'Malley, claiming the champ had cheated by being 'greased' up for their title fight.
"Who braid your hair @SugaSeanMMA you were grease to the bone I wonder how much gel they use ?" Vera wrote on 'X'.
Vera's outcry may have come as a surprise, considering neither of them grappled, but whatever the case, the bantamweight rivals are at it once again.
"Send pic of your face," O'Malley replied to Vera on 'X', later captioning a separate post on Instagram with '50-43'. The official judges scorecards read 50-45, 50-45, and 50-44 after their five-round contest.
Regardless of the scores and some bruises, Vera would keep on engaging with O'Malley.
"I’m fine black eye small cut the usual. How’s the liver?" Vera responded, referencing a body shot that hurt O'Malley at the final bell. "U do remember that sound u make."
If the strike had landed a tad bit earlier in the title fight, UFC commentator Jon Anik thinks we could have seen a new champion crowned in Miami along with a 2-0 score for Chito Vera in his series vs. Sean O'Malley
“So that body shot at the end of the fight, a perfect left hook essentially on the horn and Sean O’Malley eventually like cripples over up against the fence as he sort of recovers," Anik said on his podcast (h/t: Middle Easy). "I don’t know if I’m suggestive of the fact that maybe had ‘Chito’ just managed risk a little bit differently earlier that this could have materialized.
"That body shot was one of the most debilitating strikes landed in that fight on either side and it was Chito’s best shot and it just happened to come literally at the end of the fight."
Tied at 1-1, will we ever see a trilogy between Sean O'Malley and Chito Vera? Or was O'Malley's 'masterclass' at UFC 299 enough to settle the score?
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