Bantamweight rivals Sean O’Malley and Chito Vera will meet for a second time, per UFC President Dana White.
On Monday, during a slew of big fight announcements, White revealed that the pair’s rematch — now with O’Malley holding bantamweight gold — would take place in March 2024. While no date was officially revealed, the fight is expected to headline UFC 299 that month — though the UFC has doubled up on Pay-Per-View events in the month of March, as they did this year.
No other fights have been announced for the March O’Malley card, which does not have a location, venue, or broadcast plan revealed.
O’Malley (17-1, 1NC) and Vera (21-8-1) first met in August 2020, with Marlon “Chito” Vera coming away with a TKO victory. It’s a result O’Malley has long derided, complaining that he injured his leg in the bout — albeit off a Vera leg kick.
Regardless, the loss stands as the lone blemish on the 29-year-old’s record. Since then, the “Suga Show” fighter has racked up wins over Raulian Paiva, ex-champ Petr Yan, and this past August, Aljamain Sterling — which saw Sean O’Malley claim bantamweight gold.
The win cemented O’Malley as the biggest, most successful star to come out of Dana White’s Contender Series, where he appeared in 2017. Outside of his promotional debut at The Ultimate Fighter 26 finale, O’Malley has fought exclusively on numbered PPV cards.
Vera has posted a 5-2 record since his win over O’Malley, and notched victories over Frankie Edgar, Rob Font, Dominick Cruz, and most recently Pedro Munhoz.
