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UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley has revealed Marlon 'Chito' Vera to be the reason behind him making an appearance at UFC 298.
The two athletes are scheduled to face off in a rematch in the main event of UFC 299. The bantamweight title will be on the line and the fight will take place on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
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Ahead of the clash, 'Sugar' sat down for a chat with Ariel Helwani for 'The MMA Hour'. During his time there, the 29-year-old spoke about being in attendance for the UFC 298 event, which was held on Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
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O'Malley said he was present at the Honda Center in an attempt to have a run-in with Vera. 'Sugar' shared that he was also looking to cross paths with several other fighters including the newly crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.
The 29-year-old accused 'Chito' of being scared as he did not attend the fights on Feb. 17.
"I wanted to punk out 'Chito', but he wasn't there. I don't know where he was. I thought he was gonna be there... I was pushing for that Ilia fight, I thought maybe I could have a run-in with someone. Didn't see Merab [Dvalishvili], didn't see Henry [Cejudo], didn't see Ilia. 'Chito' didn't even show up. My aura was too big. My presence was too powerful. It intimidated him. I heard he was in California. He decided not to go, maybe got a little scared."
Check out Sean O'Malley's comments from the 5:50 mark below:
Sean O'Malley speaks on the possibility of fighting Ilia Topuria after his clash against Marlon 'Chito' Vera
Sean O'Malley believes a fight against Ilia Topuria might be on the cards if he manages to get the better of Marlon Vera at UFC 299.
In the interview with Airle Helwani, 'Sugar' claimed that if he puts on an incredible performance come March 9, he could call out any opponent of his choice and that fight will be granted to him by the UFC.
"Really what it comes down to is I go out there and put on the performance that I say I'm going to put on against 'Chito.' A beautiful performance, and I call out whoever I want on that mic, I think I can get what fight I want. But I gotta go out there and do what I do." [from 3:30 onwards]
