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Sean O’Malley basically handpicked his first title protection by plucking Marlon “Chito” Vera to function his counterpart in UFC 299’s essential occasion.
By all accounts, Vera shouldn’t sniff a title shot proper now after dropping to Cory Sandhagen after which scoring an uninspiring win over Pedro Munhoz, however a victory over O’Malley from 2020 was all that mattered when reserving the matchup. As a result of O’Malley instructions an viewers as a fast-rising UFC star, his want to avenge the lone lack of his profession shut out extra deserving contenders like Merab Dvalishvili, who sits on a exceptional 10-fight win streak but is on the skin wanting in in the case of O’Malley’s first title protection.
UFC welterweight Matt Brown believes that was all achieved with a function — so O’Malley might no less than get one title protection underneath his belt earlier than he inevitably runs right into a struggle he has little or no likelihood of profitable.
“He’s bought good individuals round him, managing him, placing issues collectively,” Brown mentioned of O’Malley’s collection of Vera as an opponent over Dvalishvili on the newest episode of The Fighter vs. The Author. “It ought to have been Merab, however the UFC’s squeezing all of the juice they’ll out of Sean O’Malley earlier than Merab is available in and empties that cup out.
“Merab is the following champion. I don’t assume there’s any doubt about it. Most likely a longtime champion. I don’t see anyone arising that may take Merab out. I imply, he simply appears to be like unbelievable in all the things he does. He’s completely a f****** practice.”
Throughout his present run, Dvailishvili has taken out quite a few ranked opponents, together with three former bantamweight champions. Following his newest win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298, UFC CEO Dana White lastly declared Dvalishvili as subsequent in line for the title shot.
Assuming the UFC follows via on that promise, Brown says it actually doesn’t matter who wins at UFC 299, as a result of that individual will inevitably fall to Dvalishvili.
“One-hundred p.c [Merab wins],” Brown mentioned. “I don’t there’s any query. He beats each of them in the identical night time.
“I’ve been saying for somewhat bit now, particularly after the way in which he simply beat Cejudo, there’s a good likelihood he’s going to be among the finest of all-time. I believe he has an actual good likelihood of being prime 5 all time. There’s no one beating him for a very long time.”
So far as who will really go away UFC 299 with the title, Brown feels assured that O’Malley will maintain onto his belt for no less than another night time.
A freak harm ended the primary struggle between O’Malley and Vera, but it surely appears unlikely one thing that that can occur once more. At their very best, Brown believes O’Malley is simply the higher fighter, though he nonetheless must be cautious with Vera via all 5 rounds.
“Chito’s simply bought an uphill battle,” Brown mentioned. “I don’t see the place he’s going to have the ability to pull it out aside from it’s a five-round struggle. It’s a f****** five-round struggle and Chito is a god**** canine. I’m 90-10 right here on Sean O’Malley. It’s simply an uphill battle for Chito. I believe it’s a tricky struggle for him.”
After all, Vera has pulled off wins in comparable circumstances when he was down on the scorecards however then delivered an emphatic end.
It’s attainable he does the identical factor to O’Malley, however Brown doesn’t anticipate that to occur.
“The one factor going for him on this struggle is it’s 5 rounds and he’s bought good energy,” Brown mentioned of Vera. “He finds his pictures rather well. So principally, Sean simply can’t f*** up for 5 rounds. However I believe Sean, he confirmed it within the first struggle, he’s the higher fighter. He was piecing up Chito fairly good, however to be truthful, Chito’s a sluggish starter. I believe yow will discover methods in case you dig deep sufficient to discover a approach for Chito to win this struggle. If you need him to win, you can justify it.
“I believe Sean O’Malley form of rubs lots of people the unsuitable approach along with his purple hair and streaming bizarre dork stuff or no matter, which is all superb, however I believe individuals form of discover justified methods for Chito to win as a result of all of us love Chito. He’s an incredible dude and all of us love the way in which he fights. However based mostly on the historical past, if Sean’s ankle holds up, he most likely wins the struggle.”
Take heed to new episodes of The Fighter vs. The Author each Tuesday with audio solely variations of the podcast obtainable on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio
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