“I will make Sean give up,” the Ecuadorian fighter wrote on social media.
“That’s going to be hard to do without the head I’m going to take your head off,” the American replied. “I’ll stop Chito in the third or fourth round. Probably with a left jab.”
Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera last stepped into the octagon this past August at UFC 292 in Boston. O’Malley finished compatriot Aljamain Sterling by second-round TKO in the main event to become the new lightweight division champion, while Vera won a unanimous decision over Pedro Munoz to put his career back on track after a split decision loss to Corey Sandhagen.
In August 2020, the Ecuadorian representative inflicted the first and only defeat of his professional career on the American, finishing the future champion by technical knockout at the end of the opening five minutes.
Despite the setback in the first match, Sean O’Malley will enter his rematch with Marlon Vera as more than a two-time favorite.