Preview: UFC 252 ‘Miocic vs. Cormier 3’ Main Card

Bantamweights

Sean O’Malley (12-0) vs. Marlon Vera (15-6-1)

ODDS: O’Malley (-310), Vera (+255)

After the United States Anti-Doping Agency threatened to derail his career, O’Malley has certainly made up for lost time in 2020. The first year of Dana White’s Contender Series unearthed a lot of top talent, but in terms of standing out, O’Malley was near the top of the list between his exciting fight style and odd charisma. However, he also looked like a prospect the UFC was sure to push too fast too soon. Wins over Terrion Ware and Andre Soukhamthath were not particularly overwhelming, yet O’Malley still found himself in a co-main event slot or third from the top. An injury suffered in the Soukhamthath bout slowed down O’Malley for a bit, and his career was then essentially put on ice due to issues with USADA. O’Malley had the same “pulsing” issues that plagued Jon Jones, but with none of Jones’ clout, O’Malley was left to sit on the shelf for over two years. O’Malley finally made his return in March, and he certainly looks to have made good use of the layoff. He has the same motion-heavy sniping style, but now, he is absolutely obliterating tough opponents like Jose Alberto Quinonez and Eddie Wineland, two men who only lasted about two minutes in the cage with “Sugar Sean.” There are still plenty of questions about how O’Malley fares in deeper waters, but these have been the type of performances that have taken him from promising long-term prospect to impending title contender. In the meantime, he gets another tough test against Vera, and an impressive win here could vault O’Malley into contention.

It has been an impressive climb up the ladder for Vera, who stood out on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” but mostly as a human-interest story. Vera fought to raise money for his daughter, who suffered from a rare form of facial paralysis that required surgery. Even after he lost his debut, the UFC decided to stand by Vera and keep him on the roster, and after a few inconsistent years, the Ecuadorian began to bloom into a prospect to watch. Vera enjoyed a breakout year in 2017. He spoiled the retirement fight of Brad Pickett, spoiled the homecoming of Brian Kelleher and then may have had his strongest performance of the bunch in a decision loss to John Lineker. Since then, Vera has aspired to stay as active as possible and has shown clear continual improvement. Vera once had a rightfully earned reputation for slow starts, but in recent fights, he has even overcome that, starting the fight dangerous even before he continues to adjust. Many feel Vera rightfully won his last fight, a May loss to top prospect Yadong Song. Here, Vera looks to make up for that with a decisive win.

This could easily be the fight where the hype train stops for O’Malley or, at the very least, he finally gets tested since coming back from his suspension. Throughout all the ups and downs of his career, Vera has never been finished, and that is even after taking abuse from hard hitters like Lineker and Song. As a result, it is easy to see a scenario where Vera survives the early storm and puts O’Malley in trouble, whether it is via pressure on the feet or finally getting a good look on what O’Malley can provide on the mat. Vera has gotten better about getting off to a quicker start but remains hittable early, and while “Chito” has proven to be quite durable, O’Malley has been throwing the kind of shots that could put anyone out. In a bit of a flier, the call is for O’Malley to continue his rapid ascent with a first-round knockout.

Continue Reading » Rozenstruik vs. Dos Santos