'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUG/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAMBXFv/EACIQAAEDAwMFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQABREGEjETISIycf/aAAgBAQABPwDTmsbdJg9KzWZuDLJiRXDhAQsZVvT2Hr9yaulr33OWptqK2gvLKUAL8Rnjmv/EABoRAAEFAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAhEhMfD/2gAIAQIBAT8AcYsdi//EABcRAAMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAhH/2gAIAQMBAT8AiU5xn//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Umar Nurmagomedov recently shared his prediction for the upcoming fight between Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera, who are set to face each other at UFC 299 on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
O'Malley makes his first bantamweight title defense in the main event and will look to avenge his lone career loss to Vera. Since their previous encounter, the reigning bantamweight champion has surged in popularity and is coming off an impressive title-winning second-round TKO win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292.
Trending
Both men faced off in the octagon for the first time in the co-main event of UFC 252. O'Malley was crippled by Vera's calf kicks, and eventually, TKO'd on the mat after being unable to keep the fight standing, owing to the rare drop-foot injury due to impact to the peroneal nerve.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
At UFC Fight Night 238 media day, Nurmagomedov was asked who he thought would win between O'Malley and Vera, to which he responded:
''I think Sean O'Malley gonna smash this guy because their last fight, 'Chito' win because of O'Malley take it like he injured, that's why. We didn't know what's going to happen in this fight if he not injured, because until he injured, O'Malley was smashing him.''
Check out Umar Nurmagomedov's comments below (5:37):
Nurmagomedov is set to face UFC debutant Bekzat Almakhan in a bantamweight bout at UFC Vegas 87 this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is ranked 13th in the 135-pound division, has a 4-0 record in the octagon, and a 16-0 record overall. Meanwhile, Almakhan is on a ten-fight winning streak and signed with the UFC last month.
Sean O'Malley intends to fight Merab Dvalishvili next
Sean O'Malley stated before UFC 298 that he would be interested in fighting Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title if the Spaniard emerged victorious.
This, however, drew huge scorn from MMA fans, who had just seen Merab Dvalishvili beat Henry Cejudo at the same event and assumed O'Malley was avoiding 'The Machine'.
With his fight against Marlon Vera approaching, O'Malley has stated that Dvalishvili will be his next opponent if he wins at UFC 299:
''Initially, I was calling for Ilia. I wanted the Ilia fight. I wanted that fight. It excites me, but I also thought the fans would get excited about it. But I got a lot of pushback saying, 'You're ducking Merab! Merab is next!' So Merab's next. Let's do Merab."
Check out Sean O'Malley's comments below:
