Sean O’Malley claims he will ‘SMOKE’ Chito Vera in huge rematch and claims challenger is ‘genuinely scared’ after Dana White announced bantamweight title clash for UFC 299

• UFC president Dana White revealed three major fights for next year
• Sean O’Malley is to take on Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC 299 bantamweight clash 
• Listen to Mail Sport’s new boxing podcast THE HOOK – with exclusive interviews 

Sean O’Malley is licking his lips at the prospect of exacting revenge over Chito Vera at UFC 299. 

UFC president Dana White announced a spate of massive contests to take place in the new year, among them a bantamweight showdown in March, with the exact date and location still undetermined.

O’Malley lost against the Ecuadorian three years ago but has since gone unbeaten and spectacularly claimed the title from Aljamain Sterling in August by TKO. 

‘Sugar’ is desperate to put right his perceived wrong of the Vera defeat, in which he was hobbled by a kick to a nerve in his leg. 

‘I feel like it’s perfect timing,’ he told the MMA Hour after the rematch was announced. 

Sean O’Malley is set to defend his UFC bantamweight title after winning it back in August

‘After that first fight, everyone was like, ‘You gotta get that rematch, you gotta get that rematch.’ And I said, ‘I’ll get that rematch when I want that, when it’s time. When it’s time for that rematch, I’m going to call for it and I’ll get it.’ 

‘I could’ve gotten that rematch whenever I wanted. I was like, it’s not the right time yet. Now is the right time, so I’m just very excited about that fight.

‘I don’t want to talk him down too much, because I’ve got to build a fight,’ the UFC bantamweight champion added. ‘But I’m going to smoke this dude.’

O’Malley is reluctant to put Vera’s victory over him down to anything other than fluke.     

‘It’s just, why isn’t that happening [more]?’ O’Malley said of the nerve damage. ‘I mean, I guess it happens every once a while — that nerve, right? But how many times?

‘If he kicks me in the nerve again, if it happens again, I’ll say, ‘Alright, he’s doing some s***. He knows what he’s doing.’ But I feel like it was so lucky, and he knows it. He truly, deep down knows it. 

‘That was so lucky. He’s genuinely scared of me. I know you’re watching ‘Chito,’ you know I’m way too fast for you and you ain’t going to be able to do s*** to me, bud. He knows it. I think he’s very nervous for this fight, 100 percent. He’s too slow. What are you going to do? I’m going to piece him up.’

O’Malley will have his first tdefense against No 6 Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, whom he lost to in 2020

When asked whether he’d be keen for the fight to take place in enemy territory, he added: ‘Oh yeah, I would love that. Ecuador, I don’t even know where that is. Somewhere over there. Why wouldn’t I [accept those terms]?’

‘Knocking him out in Ecuador would be even better. I want to knock him out, so it doesn’t really matter where we fight. I would be loved there.’

O’Malley insists he is fully capable of finding the knockout, even though Vera has never been separated from consciousness in any of his 30 professional contests. 

‘Chito’ is very tough. He will be hard to knock out,’ O’Malley added. ‘I know that. I don’t think he’s going to go out there, [fall after] a couple shots. But Aljo is hard to knock out too. I found his chin. So I know what I’m capable of. I’m very excited, very excited about that fight.’

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