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Conor McGregor Switches Sides to Root Against Sean O’Malley in Favor of Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC 299 Bantamweight Clash

Published 03/10/2024, 12:07 AM EST

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Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera are all set to go up against one another for a second time at UFC 299. The main event will commence within a matter of minutes. And among the many fighters and fans that have passed their prediction, there is one that might be rather eye-catching.

Conor McGregor was recently asked who he would pick for the main event of UFC 299. ‘The Notorious’ is currently on a break away from the UFC but his takes are still as interesting as ever. Here’s what McGregor had to say about the bout.

Conor McGregor thinks the bout is great

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Conor McGregor admitted that the main event is an exciting fight given that Marlon Vera has already secured a win over Sean O’Malley once.  However, the Irishman had to make it clear that ‘Suga’ has made an awful lot of improvements since the first time they locked horns.

“I’ll tell ya what, Sean has improved since their first fight.” Said McGregor. “‘Chito’s a tough ask for Sean. You know, every fight between every person on every given day is a different fight. It’s gonna be an amazing bout. I wish both men well.”

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“Oh I don’t know, I think ‘Chito’ could do it again, you know let’s see. . . . But after seeing the first one and ‘Chito’ it was a good win for ‘Chito’ and he damaged, got (to) damage the leg and then stomped him with elbows. So it was a clear win in my opinion. But Sean has improved drastically and he’s now the champion.”

Perhaps O’Malley heard McGregor’s ideas about being the champion and carrying the confidence along. At their UFC 299 bout, ‘Suga’ reigned supreme after an all-out war against Marlon Vera that ended in a loss for the Ecuadorian who was hoping to be his nation’s first champion.

Sean O’Malley is still the champ

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Sean O’Malley trumped over ‘Chito’ via a unanimous decision win after the five-round length of their matchup. ‘Suga’ is still the reigning champion who dominated Vera throughout the rounds, especially in the first three rounds where he landed many brutal strikes.

In fact, in the second round of the bout, O’Malley landed a knee that could have put Vera’s lights out for good. However, ‘Chito’ too is a tough fighter in his own right, so he managed to stay on his feet for three more rounds until the decision went to the scorecards.

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All three judges scored it for O’Malley at 50-45, 50-45, and 50-44. Now, the champ looks forward to challenging the featherweight champ Ilia Topuria to try and replicate McGregor’s double championship titles.

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Written by:

Prit Chauhan

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One take at a time

Prit Chauhan is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. His portfolio shows him as the go-to event coverage writer at ES and his work on UFC 297 is proof of the same. As an experienced writer and a longtime MMA fan, Prit’s strong suit lies in telling the relatively unknown and more personal stories of fights and fighters.
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Edited by:

Joyita Das