Sean O'Malley knows that Marlon Vera isn’t your typical No. 1 contender. And he believes his opponent knows it, too.
However, Vera's history with the reigning bantamweight champion — namely a first-round TKO over O’Malley in August 2020 — makes for an intriguing storyline. And it doesn’t hurt that O’Malley himself wants to avenge his lone career defeat. He’ll get a chance to do so when he faces Vera in the UFC 299 main event on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
“Zero percent chance [he gets a shot if I’m not champion],” O’Malley said in a recent interview with ESPN.