Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera just went to war against one another at UFC 299 and the reigning bantamweight champion has come up victorious! This was their second meeting inside the cage and now, perhaps, O’Malley had the closure he needed as he secured a lopsided unanimous decision win. Now, where does he go from here?

The five-round fight was absolutely brutal. Blows were exchanged, shots were missed and perhaps, a lot of emotions were thrown around for O’Malley, who has been wanting redemption since UFC 252. Now, he has his eyes set on another champion to extend his legacy outside of the bantamweight division.

Is Sean O’Malley the UFC’s next big thing?

Sean O’Malley defeated the only man to have ever handed him a loss. Now, he has his eyes set on the featherweight champion of the world, Ilia Topuria. In the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, O’Malley called on Dana White to give him a flight to Spain.

“Dana, give me a jet to Spain baby, I’m coming for Ilia Topuria.” He said. “. . . I want Ilia baby, give me Ilia.” Rogan asked ‘Suga’ why he wanted to fight ‘El Matador’ and here’s his reasoning – “He’s a scary f*cking dude. Ilia excites me, going up a weight class excites me. But I’m, honestly, I’m here for whatever, if you guys want me to knock out Merab [Dvalishvili] I’ll do that too but Ilia’s an exciting fight for the people.”

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Clearly, the champion has a vision set in case the featherweight title bout request doesn’t go his way. Merab Dvalishvili would certainly prove an interesting opponent for O’Malley with his wrestling and grappling. However, talking about UFC 299, it was an absolute showcase of true stand-up fighting.

Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera locked horns first at UFC 252 back in 2020. O’Malley would suffer a foot injury in the early round and soon, a TKO would follow as Vera capitalized on the weakness, making ‘Chito’ the first and only fighter to defeat ‘Suga’ so far.

The rematch was a different story altogether. The first thing the champion did after winning his title last August was make sure he corrected the sole loss on his record. O’Malley looked absolutely dominant throughout most of the fight. Up until the late rounds, ‘Suga’ was putting on a clinic on the challenger, who seemingly had no answer, except a clean body shot in the dying seconds of the fight.

Performances like that make a fighter’s legacy, and for O’Malley, it announced his reign over the division loud and clear. But what about his star power?

UFC 299 result and O’Malley’s potential course of action

After the Aljamain Sterling fight at UFC 292, the PPV sales led many to believe that O’Malley had not reached the level of stardom of Conor McGregor and the likes. But this time, the story is different. During the press conference, it was evident that the crowd was pro-Vera than O’Malley. There was also a large section of fans who came in from Ecuador to support their star. But it was O’Malley who made the most of this exposure.

His statement win has raised his stock in front of the massive Miami crowd. Further, the event had set a record with a massive 14 million dollar gate, accessing Conor McGregor territory. The judges scored the fight 50-45, 50-45, and 50-44, all of it in O’Malley’s favor, making his first-ever title defense a successful one and what a show it was. Now, the question that everyone wants answered: Will Topuria buckle up for Spain?

Ilia Topuria recently won the featherweight title by knocking out the long-time king of the division, Alexander Volkanovski. The UFC 298 bout sent shockwaves down the MMA community as Topuria was welcomed as the champ in Spain with much applause. He soon went out to call Conor McGregor for a fight whenever the UFC decided to go to Spain.

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However, a Spain bout between the two isn’t quite in sight. While CEO Dana White has given serious thought to taking the promotion to the champ’s country, nothing has been promised just yet. Will Topuria fight O’Malley? It would certainly make up for an exciting fight. Realistically, perhaps a rematch between Topuria and Volkanovski is what may come next. But what are the odds of the unthinkable happening?

When McGregor was on his rise to stardom, he was making the right choices and calling the right fights. O’Malley seems to be doing his part right but will the UFC oblige him like they obliged the Irishman? Back when McGregor started the ‘champ champ’ trend, it was exciting because it had never been done before. But the tides have turned since then.

Both the UFC fans and White himself have at times stated that champions needed to defend their titles against rightful contenders before thinking of moving up. It’s not just O’Malley, but the champions above him- Topuria, Islam Makhachev, and Leon Edwards– have all expressed interest in punching up in weight.

This makes O’Malley’s callout all the more interesting. Topuria getting a Conor McGregor fight is highly unlikely, even if the pair agree on a catchweight fight. White will have better matchmaking options. Topuria has contenders like Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev ready to go. McGregor has Michael Chandler waiting on the sidelines for a fight that just does not seem to be getting made.

If the UFC doubles down on champions defending their titles, then O’Malley will end up fighting Dvalishvili next in all likelihood. As for Topuria, the aforementioned options apply. Will O’Malley actually get his shot at Topuria? Will he make it happen? We’ll have to wait and see.

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