UFC 299 Preview

Good evening ladies and gentleman, we are in for another epic night of fights on Saturday, March 9. UFC 299 will be taking place in Miami, Florida at the Kaseya Center. This fight card is pretty stacked from top to bottom. The main card features a title fight as the current #1 Bantamweight on the planet and rising superstar "Suga" Sean O'Malley (17-1) defends his Bantamweight Championship for the first time in a rematch against the only man to ever defeat him Marlon "Chito" Vera (23-8) and former Interim Lightweight Champion Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier (29-8) will be looking to defend his position as one of the division's best and regain another opportunity at the Lightweight belt against the rising Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis (13-1). Before we witness this fight card on Saturday March 9, I wanted to share my thoughts and predictions on each fight.

Sean O'Malley vs Chito Vera

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I feel that this fight is going to live up to epic proportion and will live up to the hype. This fight has all the ingredients to be an instant classic, as both men have a backstory and possess a unique skill set. There's nothing better in the world of MMA than a rivalry and a rematch, this fight has both. As mentioned above, Chito Vera is the only man to defeat Sean O'Malley, in which Chito knocked out Suga to put an end to the undefeated streak and derail the O'Malley hype train. Before Chito beat O'Malley back in 2020, Suga Sean was the next big thing in the UFC, knocking out folks left and right. In the first fight, Chito beat up O'Malleys legs and ended up puncturing a nerve in his leg. O'Malley's leg injury caused him to not be able to stand with weight on his leg, which resulted in Chito following up with elbows and handing O'Malley his first and only defeat of his career. O'Malley has had trouble accepting the defeat, telling the world that Chito won by a fluke due to the damage to the nerve in his leg. Since then, Suga has gone on to become the Bantamweight Champion of the world, while Chito sits at number five. O'Malley is looking to avenge his loss to Chito and continue his path to superstardom. Now, let's get to the breakdown of this fight. Both fighters are strikers, although if I had to choose, I would give O'Malley the advantage due to him being able to mix it up with his strikes a bit more. Chito isn't as dynamic of a striker than O'Malley, but he does possess the ability to walk forward and put pressure on O'Malley. Suga will look to use his slick footwork and kicks in order to keep his distance and pick Chito apart from the outside. Chito will be looking to march forward, kick O'Malley's legs, and hopefully keep O'Malley on his back foot for the entirety of the fight. I feel that this fight comes down to whether Chito is able to start faster than normal, being that he has the tendency to find his groove later in the fight - which could cause him to fall behind on the scorecards quickly. Suga is a fast starter and has a plethora of knockouts within the first two rounds under his belt. With that being said, the winner of this fight will be determined by which fighter is able to implemnent their respective gameplans. O'Malley will be looking to pick Chito apart from the outside and catch Chito with a right hand coming in, while Chito will be looking to keep O'Malley on the backfoot and knock O'Malley out within the last two rounds of the fight. Will O'Malley be able to avenge the only loss of his carrer? Will Chito be able to achieve his life long dream of becoming UFC champion? We sha'll find out Saturday night!

Prediction: Marlon "Chito" Vera via Knockout 4th Round