Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera were scheduled to fight just over a year ago, but it fell through. Next month, we’ll be able to see the exciting matchup at UFC 252.
Sean O’Malley announced that he had signed a contract to fight Marlon Vera at UFC 252 on his YouTube channel and the fight was later confirmed by MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin.
After winning the first two fights in his Octagon career and subsequently failing a drug test, O’Malley received a step-up in competition and was set to fight Vera at UFC 239. However, O’Malley failed another drug test after the fight was booked and the exciting fight was robbed from us. Another two wins later and O’Malley is set to fight Vera again.
After the second drug test failure, O’Malley made quick work of both Jose Quinonez and Eddie Wineland. He knocked out Quinonez in just over two minutes in March, then lit up the Apex Center with a fantastic knockout against Eddie Wineland last month just under two minutes into the fight. The Contender Series standout has been quickly gaining popularity among both fans and the promotion itself.
Marlon Vera is no easy matchup, though. He’s been with the UFC since 2014 and has delivered countless exciting performances. Recently, Vera was on a five-fight stoppage streak, then took a fight at featherweight against rising contender Song Yadong. Vera lost by unanimous decision, but public opinion was on his side.
UFC 252 will take place on August 15 from the UFC Apex Center in Las Vegas. There are only two fights booked for the card thus far (including O’Malley vs. Vera) and the main event is expected to be the trilogy fight for the heavyweight championship between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier. It will be the third event after the promotion returns from Fight Island in August.
