UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Vera claims that he accepted a rematch with Sean O’Malley but his opponent didn’t want to face him again and is avoiding the rematch.
Vera recently revealed on Twitter that he’d been offered a second fight with O’Malley following Sean’s rebound win at UFC 260 where the young prospect knocked out Thomas Almeida. Unfortunately, Vera says O’Malley is uninterested.
If Sean wanna get his ass kick again I’m here stevia just ask for it
— C H🖕🏽T O🇪🇨V E R A (@chitoveraUFC) March 30, 2021
He declined. I got offered, said yes and silence from him. https://t.co/6UqN371M2a
— C H🖕🏽T O🇪🇨V E R A (@chitoveraUFC) April 11, 2021
At UFC 252 last August, Vera, and O’Malley met in a very intriguing fight. Early on, “Suga” was having success landing some strikes but Vera then landed some leg kicks that changed the entire fight. He caused O’Malley to have ‘drop foot’ and he kept on rolling his ankles and Vera eventually got on top of him, and ground and pounded him out to earn a first-round TKO.
Marlon Vera still interested in a rematch with O’Malley
It is interesting to see Marlon Vera calling for the rematch as after the fight he didn’t care for it. Before his fight against Jose Aldo in December, Vera made it clear he was not going to waste his time with O’Malley again.
“I don’t f*****g care. The UFC calls me, they give me a name and I say yes. I don’t think I’ve ever declined a fight, of course, if I am injured I tell them I can’t fight right now,” Vera said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com back in December. “If I am okay I take the fight. I take fights without camps before, so whatever they want to do. O’Malley is like a little puppy that barks and does nothing. I’m not wasting my time with that guy.”
Following O’Malley’s win over Almeida, it feels like the UFC will again try to push him against a top-15 opponent, though an aging veteran such as Dominick Cruz seems to be a more likely target. A rematch with Vera makes sense, of course, but the rematch is also a fight that the UFC can do in a year or two. The promotion likes to strike while the iron is hot and with O’Malley coming off of the big win over Almeida, it feels like he will be getting a big name in his next fight.
Marlon Vera is coming off a decision loss to Jose Aldo back in December. He has been campaigning to get a fight for quite some time but for whatever reason, he hasn’t been booked. While O’Malley might very well get a big fight soon unless UFC decides to run it back with Vera.
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